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Dryad

Nectar robbing effects over a key nectar source plant (Tecoma fulva, Bignoniaceae) in a dry tropical Andean valley

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Mar 07, 2024 version files 58.14 KB

Abstract

Zoophilous flowering plants have features to attract their pollinators, which may also be used by exploiters like nectar robbers. Nectar robbers access nectar by probing flower corollas (primary robbing) or using existing holes (secondary robbing). Nectar robbing can negatively impact a plant’s fitness directly by damaging the reproductive structures of the flower or indirectly by modifying the visitation patterns of pollinators. We tested the hypothesis that the robbed flowers are less visited by legitimate pollinators by comparing floral visitors and visitation frequency in primary-, secondary- and un-robbed flowers of Tecoma fulva spp. altoandina, a native shrub species that is an important nectar source for nectarivores in the dry valleys of the Bolivian Andes (Bignoniaceae). The Giant Hummingbird, Patagona gigas (Trochilidae), was the main visitor of T. fulva, and visited more frequently un-robbed flowers, followed by secondary robbed and primary robbed flowers. The variation in visitation frequency may result in less pollen transport to robbed flowers, which may have negative consequences for biological fitness, probably manifested in decreased seed production.