Abstract Detail

Pollination Biology

Figueroa-Castro , Dulce Maria [1], González-Tochihuitl, Guadalupe [2], Ramírez-Morales, María del Carmen [3], Rivas-Arancibia, Sombra Patricia [3].

Disturbance effect on the community of floral visitors of annual plants in a xeric environment in Mexico.

Plant-animal interactions assure plant reproduction and persistence and, consequently, resource availability for other organisms within the ecosystems. Disturbance events might affect the interactions of pollination through changes in the structure and composition of the communities of floral visitors. Although there are numerous studies addressing the importance of disturbance on the communities of floral visitors, there is a lack of studies of this phenomenon on annual plants. In this study, we determine the effect of disturbance on the community of floral visitors to annual plants in a xeric community in Zapotitlán Salinas, Puebla, Mexico. In order to accomplish this, we collected all the insects visiting the flowers of the annual plants growing in two sites with contrasting disturbance indices (conserved- and disturbed-site). Then, we determined species richness, insect abundance, and the diversity index for the insect communities in each site. We compared species richness and abundance as well as diversity index between sites using χ² and t tests, respectively. Moreover, we established the similarity in the composition of the insect communities through the estimation of the Sorensen index of similarity. Within plant species, abundance and diversity of insects were significantly higher in the disturbed site for only three out of 10 plant species. At the plant community level, species richness, abundance and diversity were significantly higher in the disturbed site. Similarity indices were low within plant species (7-40%) and at the level of the whole plant community (32%), suggesting that the composition of the insect communities is very different between sites. Our results indicate that disturbance has strong effects on the community of floral visitors of annual plants, which in turn, might affect their reproduction as well as their interactions with other organisms within the ecosystem.

1 - Universidad Autónoma De Puebla, Escuela De Biología, Blvd. Valsequillo Y Av. San Claudio, Edif. 112A, Ciudad Universitaria, Col. Jardines De San Manuel, Puebla, N/A, 72570, Mexico
2 - Universidad Autónoma de Puebla,, Escuela de Biología, Edif. 112A, Ciudad Universitaria, Av. San Claudio y Blvd. Valsequillo s/nSan Manuel, Puebla, Puebla , 72570, Mexico
3 - Universidad Autónoma de Puebla,, Escuela de Biología, Edif. 112A, Ciudad Universitaria, Av. San Claudio y Blvd. Valsequillo s/n San Manuel, Puebla, Puebla , 72570, Mexico

Keywords:
Abundance
Disturbance index
diversity
Insect community
Similarity
species richness.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 32
Location: Firs South/Boise Centre
Date: Wednesday, July 30th, 2014
Time: 10:45 AM
Number: 32011
Abstract ID:618
Candidate for Awards:None