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Factors affecting pollinator visitation and reproductive success in Sonneratia caseolaris and Aegiceras corniculatum in a mangrove forest in India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2001

SHALINI PANDIT
Affiliation:
Wildlife Institute of India, Post Box No. 18, Chandrabani, Dehradun - 248 001, India
B. C. CHOUDHURY
Affiliation:
Wildlife Institute of India, Post Box No. 18, Chandrabani, Dehradun - 248 001, India

Abstract

Pollinator visitation to, and the reproductive success of, Sonneratia caseolaris (Sonneratiaceae) and Aegiceras corniculatum (Myrsinaceae) was investigated in a mangrove forest in India. S. caseolaris was shown to be primarily outcrossed and A. corniculatum was shown to be a selfing species. The flowers of both plant species attracted several diurnal and nocturnal visitors. Earlier reports had indicated that S. caseolaris flowered for one night and was exclusively night-pollinated. But flowers of this species were found to be in bloom both at night and during the day, and diurnal visitors to the flowers were more diverse and frequent than nocturnal ones. This was related to the higher volume and energy value of nectar in the morning. The effects of time of day and temperature on visitation rates were quantified. The importance of visitors to plant reproductive success was investigated via controlled visitor-exclusion experiments. Pollinators were expected to be more important for the outcrossing species than for the selfing species, and this was confirmed by the results of the exclusion experiments. In S. caseolaris reproductive success was determined both by pollinator availability and the intensity of flower and fruit predation, while in A. corniculatum it is likely to be resource limited.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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