The biogeography of plant-animal interactions is a novel topic on which many disciplines converge (e.g., reproductive biology, biogeography, and evolutionary biology). Narrative reviews have indicated that tropical columnar cacti and agaves have highly specialized pollination systems, while extratropical species have generalized systems. However, this dichotomy has never been quantitatively tested. We tested this hypothesis using traditional and phylogenetically informed meta-analysis. Three effect sizes were estimated from the literature: diurnal, nocturnal, and hand cross-pollination (an indicator of pollen limitation). Columnar cactus pollination systems ranged from purely bat-pollinated in the tropics to generalized pollination, with diurnal visitors as effective as nocturnal visitors in extratropical regions; even when phylogenetic relatedness among species is taken into account. Metaregressions identified a latitudinal increase in pollen limitation in columnar cacti, but this increase was not significant after correcting for phylogeny. The currently available data for agaves do not support any latitudinal trend. Nectar production of columnar cacti varied with latitude. Although this variation is positively correlated with pollination by diurnal visitors, it is influenced by phylogeny. The degree of specificity in the pollination systems of columnar cacti is heavily influenced by ecological factors and has a predictable geographic pattern.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3732/ajb.0800392 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
High genetic variation, low differentiation, and Pleistocene expansions of the migratory and endangered long-nosed tequila bat, Leptonycteris nivalis, inferred using both maternal and paternal genetic markers.
PLoS One
January 2025
Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Ciudad de México, México.
Tequila bats (genus Leptonycteris) have gained attention for their critical role in pollinating different plant species, especially Agave spp. and columnar cacti. Leptonycteris nivalis is the largest nectar-feeding bat in the Americas, and the females exhibit migratory behavior during the breeding season.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFirst Report of Pitaya Virus X Infecting f. (Thin-Stemmed Totem Pole Cactus) in the United States.
Plant Dis
February 2024
Yuma County Cooperative Extension, University of Arizona, Yuma, Arizona, United States;
Lophocereus is a genus of three species of columnar cacti native to Arizona and Mexico (Lodi, 2015). These cacti produce several tall, ascending, columnar stems that branch at the base in a candelabra-like arrangement. The most common species, L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFruit Juices of Etcho (Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum) and Giant Cardon (Pachycereus pringlei) are Sources of Health-Promoting Ingredients with Potential Anticancer Properties.
Plant Foods Hum Nutr
December 2023
Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y de Salud, Departamento de Ciencias Químico-Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Laboratorio de Análisis Clínicos e Investigación (LACIUS, U.N.), Universidad de Sonora, Navojoa, Sonora, 85880, México.
Mexico is one of the main diversification centers of cacti in the world, with more than 500 endemic species, most of which remain nutritionally and functionally uncharacterized. The columnar cacti of the genus Pachycereus comprise five underutilized endemic Mexican species, whose nutraceutical properties have only been studied in the P. weberi species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfluence of the nurse-protégé interaction on the frugivory pattern of the columnar cactus Pilosocereus leucocephalus.
Oecologia
July 2023
Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada, Universidad Veracruzana, Av. de las Culturas Veracruzanas No. 101, Col. Emiliano Zapata, C.P. 91090, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
Nurse plants provide benefits during the early life cycle of the protected plant by reducing the intensity of stressful abiotic conditions. However, nurse plants may influence frugivore visitation and consumption, affecting the initial benefits of this interaction and generating different frugivory patterns during the reproductive phase of the protégé. Despite the importance of nurse plants and frugivory in the structure and composition of ecosystems, they have rarely been evaluated together, and frugivory patterns caused by nurse plants at different spatial and temporal scales are mostly unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhylogenomics provides insights into the evolution of cactophily and host plant shifts in Drosophila.
Mol Phylogenet Evol
January 2023
Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución (EGE), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (FCEyN), Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina; Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina. Electronic address:
Article Synopsis
- Cactophilic species of the Drosophila buzzatii cluster are used to study how genomic changes help them adapt to harsh climates and specific plants.
- Four detailed genome assemblies were created for three species in this cluster, leading to the identification of unique genes likely crucial for their adaptation to cactus plants.
- Functional analyses revealed that these unique genes are involved in detoxification, water retention, immune response, and development, which supports the idea that genomic changes are essential for surviving in South America's arid environments.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!