Gélvez-Zúñiga Irene, Beirão M, Novais Samuel, Santiago J C, Fernandes Geraldo Wilson
Ecologia Evolutiva & Biodiversidade, Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Programa de Ecologia, Conservação e Manejo da Vida Silvestre, Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Ann Bot. 2025 Feb 8;135(1-2):199-210. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcae155.
Flower-visitor interactions comprise a continuum of behaviours, from mutualistic partners to antagonistic visitors. Despite being relatively frequent in natural communities, florivory remains unexplored, especially when comprising abiotic factors, spatio-temporal variations and global environmental changes. Here, we addressed the variation of florivory driven by changes in elevation and temporal flower availability. We expect decreased floral resources as elevation increases - due to environmental constraints - which may affect plant-florivore interactions. Yet if floral resources decrease but florivores remain constant, then we may expect an increase in florivory with increasing elevation in the community.
The flowering phenology of plant individuals was recorded in the Neotropical campo rupestre vegetation, in southeastern Brazil. Damage by florivores was recorded in plots at elevations ranging from 823 to 1411 m using two response variables as a proxy for florivory: the proportion of attacked flowers per plant and the proportion of petal removal on single flowers.
Flower attack increased with elevation and damage was intensified in species with longer flowering periods. Conversely, longer flowering periods resulted in higher levels of petal removal with decreasing elevation. The temporal availability of flowers affected florivory, with the proportion of attacked flowers being more intense when there were fewer flowered individuals in the community. Petal removal on single flowers was intensified in plots with a larger number of individuals flowering, and with more species co-flowering.
This study provides one of the broadest records of a commonly neglected interaction of insects feeding on floral structures, quantifying the combined effect of floral display and availability along an elevation gradient in a highly biodiverse mountaintop community. These findings contribute to filling the gap in the understanding of florivory dynamics, focusing on a tropical mountaintop scenario facing imminent environmental changes and excessive natural resource exploitation.
访花者与花的相互作用涵盖了一系列行为，从互利共生的伙伴到敌对的访客。尽管在自然群落中较为常见，但食花现象仍未得到充分研究，尤其是当涉及非生物因素、时空变化和全球环境变化时。在此，我们探讨了海拔变化和花的时间可利用性所驱动的食花现象的变化。由于环境限制，我们预计随着海拔升高，花的资源会减少，这可能会影响植物与食花动物之间的相互作用。然而，如果花的资源减少但食花动物数量保持不变，那么我们可能预计群落中随着海拔升高食花现象会增加。
在巴西东南部新热带山地草原植被中记录了植物个体的开花物候。在海拔823至1411米的样地中记录食花动物造成的损害，使用两个响应变量作为食花现象的替代指标：每株植物上被攻击花朵的比例和单朵花上花瓣被摘除的比例。
花的受攻击率随海拔升高而增加，开花期较长的物种受到的损害更严重。相反，随着海拔降低，开花期较长导致花瓣摘除水平更高。花的时间可利用性影响食花现象，当群落中开花个体较少时，被攻击花朵的比例更高。在开花个体数量较多且有更多物种同时开花的样地中，单朵花上的花瓣摘除更为严重。
本研究提供了关于昆虫取食花结构这一普遍被忽视的相互作用的最广泛记录之一，量化了在一个生物多样性极高的山顶群落中，花展示和可利用性沿海拔梯度的综合影响。这些发现有助于填补对食花动态理解的空白，重点关注面临迫在眉睫的环境变化和过度自然资源开发的热带山顶情景。
