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Song ZQ, Yao G. Glochidionyangchunense (Phyllanthaceae), a new species with discoid flowers from Guangdong Province, China. PHYTOKEYS 2024; 239:229-238. [PMID: 38559634 PMCID: PMC10979177 DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.239.118411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Phyllanthodendron can be readily morphologically distinguished from Glochidion, but recent molecular evidence showed that Phyllanthodendron is paraphyletic due to Glochidion being nested within it. In this study, a new species of the former Phyllanthodendron is described and illustrated as Glochidionyangchunense Z.Q. Song & Gang Yao from the limestone areas of South China. This is a peculiar new species and morphologically distinguished by its discoid flowers, T-shaped disc segments, and glabrous flowering branches. A key to Glochidionyangchunense and related species in China is provided here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhu-Qiu Song
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou China
- South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, China South China National Botanical Garden Guangzhou China
| | - Gang Yao
- College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China South China Agricultural University Guangzhou China
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Hao K, Liu T, Hembry DH, Luo S. Trait matching in a multi-species geographic mosaic of leafflower plants, brood pollinators, and cheaters. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10228. [PMID: 37408629 PMCID: PMC10318581 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Trait matching between mutualistic species is usually expected to maintain mutualism, but empirical studies of trait complementarity and coadaptation in multi-species assemblages-which represent the reality of most interactions in nature-are few. Here, we studied trait matching between the leafflower shrub Kirganelia microcarpa and three associated seed-predatory leafflower moths (Epicephala spp.) across 16 populations. Behavioral and morphological observations suggested that two moths (E. microcarpa and E. tertiaria) acted as pollinators while a third (E. laeviclada) acted as a cheater. These species differed in ovipositor morphology but showed trait complementarity between ovipositor length and floral traits at both species level and population level, presumably as adaptations to divergent oviposition behaviors. However, this trait matching varied among populations. Comparisons of ovipositor length and floral traits among populations with different moth assemblages suggested an increase of ovary wall thickness where the locular-ovipositing pollinator E. microcarpa and cheater E. laeviclada were present, while stylar pit depth was less in populations with the stylar pit-ovipositing pollinator E. tertiaria. Our study indicates that trait matching between interacting partners occurs even in extremely specialized multi-species mutualisms, and that although these responses vary, sometimes non-intuitively, in response to different partner species. It seems that the moths can track changes in host plant tissue depth for oviposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Hao
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical GardenChinese Academy of ScienceGuangzhouChina
- South China National Botanical GardenGuangzhouChina
| | - Ting‐Ting Liu
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical GardenChinese Academy of ScienceGuangzhouChina
- South China National Botanical GardenGuangzhouChina
| | - David H. Hembry
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Texas Permian BasinOdessaTexasUSA
| | - Shi‐Xiao Luo
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical GardenChinese Academy of ScienceGuangzhouChina
- South China National Botanical GardenGuangzhouChina
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Chheang P, Hembry DH, Yao G, Luo SX. Diversity and species-specificity of brood pollination of leafflower trees (Phyllanthaceae: Glochidion) by leafflower moths (Lepidoptera: Epicephala) in tropical Southeast Asia (Cambodia). PLANT DIVERSITY 2022; 44:191-200. [PMID: 35505992 PMCID: PMC9043405 DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2021.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Glochidion (Phyllanthaceae; leafflower trees) is a genus of trees which is widely reported to be pollinated by leafflower moths (Gracillariidae: Epicephala) in temperate and subtropical Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands. However, the pollination ecology of Glochidion is not well described from tropical Asia, the region where it is most species-rich at both local (≤9 spp.) and regional (~200 spp.) scales. Here we report investigations of pollination biology and species-specificity of five Glochidion species in tropical Southeast Asia (Cambodia). Through nocturnal observations and fruit dissections, we find that at least three and likely five Glochidion species in Cambodia are pollinated by seed-parasitic leafflower moths. We find no evidence that any of these leafflower moths are non-mutualistic parasites, despite known examples of such parasites of this mutualism elsewhere in Asia. While the presence of a single larva in a fruit results in only a fraction of seeds being consumed, the presence of more than one larva per fruit-a frequent occurrence in some species-can result in almost all seeds within the fruit being infested. Multilocus phylogenetic analysis indicates that there are five different minimally monophyletic leafflower moth clades, each of which pollinates a unique Glochidion host species. Our results indicate that in its center of diversity in tropical Asia this system is an obligate pollination mutualism as previously described at the global margins of its distribution. These findings provide insights into the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity and maintain mutualism stability in plant-insect interactions in this biodiversity hotspot.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pisal Chheang
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuquanlu, 19A, Beijing, 100049, China
- National Authority for Preah Vihear, Choam Khsant, 13403, Cambodia
| | - David H. Hembry
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Gang Yao
- South China Limestone Plants Research Centre, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Shi-Xiao Luo
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China
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Finch JTD, Power SA, Welbergen JA, Cook JM. Staying in touch: how highly specialised moth pollinators track host plant phenology in unpredictable climates. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:161. [PMID: 34429068 PMCID: PMC8383429 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01889-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background For specialised pollinators, the synchrony of plant and pollinator life history is critical to the persistence of pollinator populations. This is even more critical in nursery pollination, where pollinators are obligately dependant on female host plant flowers for oviposition sites. Epicephala moths (Gracillariidae) form highly specialised nursery pollination mutualisms with Phyllanthaceae plants. Several hundred Phyllanthaceae are estimated to be exclusively pollinated by highly specific Epicephala moths, making these mutualisms an outstanding example of plant–insect coevolution. However, there have been no studies of how Epicephala moths synchronise their activity with host plant flowering or persist through periods when flowers are absent. Such knowledge is critical to understanding the ecology and evolutionary stability of these mutualisms. We surveyed multiple populations of both Breynia oblongifolia (Phyllanthaceae) and it’s Epicephala pollinators for over two years to determine their phenology and modelled the environmental factors that underpin their interactions. Results The abundance of flowers and fruits was highly variable and strongly linked to local rainfall and photoperiod. Unlike male flowers and fruits, female flowers were present throughout the entire year, including winter. Fruit abundance was a significant predictor of adult Epicephala activity, suggesting that eggs or early instar larvae diapause within dormant female flowers and emerge as fruits mature. Searches of overwintering female flowers confirmed that many contained pollen and diapausing pollinators. We also observed diapause in Epicephala prior to pupation, finding that 12% (9/78) of larvae emerging from fruits in the autumn entered an extended diapause for 38–48 weeks. The remaining autumn emerging larvae pupated directly without diapause, suggesting a possible bet-hedging strategy. Conclusions Epicephala appear to use diapause at multiple stages in their lifecycle to survive variable host plant phenology. Furthermore, moth abundance was predicted by the same environmental variables as male flowers, suggesting that moths track flowering through temperature. These adaptations may thereby mitigate against unpredictability in the timing of fruiting and flowering because of variable rainfall. It remains to be seen how widespread egg diapause and pre-pupal diapause may be within Epicephala moths, and, furthermore, to what degree these traits may have facilitated the evolution of these highly diverse mutualisms. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12862-021-01889-4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan T D Finch
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, Australia.
| | - Sally A Power
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, Australia
| | - Justin A Welbergen
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, Australia
| | - James M Cook
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, Australia
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Yao G, Song ZQ, Xue BE, Shi S, Li YL, Luo SX. Taxonomic revision of the genus Glochidion (Phyllanthaceae) in Taiwan, China. PHYTOKEYS 2020; 159:137-159. [PMID: 32973393 PMCID: PMC7483396 DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.159.54839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
A comprehensive taxonomic revision of the genus Glochidion J.R. Forst. & G. Forst. from Taiwan in China was carried out based on the examination of herbarium specimens and filed investigations. Eight species and three varieties are recognized, including a new species endemic to Taiwan, G. lanyuense Gang Yao & S.X. Luo, which is described and illustrated. Three names, viz. G. chademenosocarpum Hayata, G. kusukusense Hayata, and G. ovalifolium F.Y. Lu & Y.S. Hsu, are reduced to the new synonyms of G. rubrum Blume, G. lanceolatum Hayata, and G. ellipticum Wight, respectively. Two names, viz. G. lanceolatum Hayata and G. suishaense Hayata, are lectotypified here. A key to the Glochidion species in Taiwan is provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Yao
- College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaSouth China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of SciencesGuangzhouChina
| | - Zhu-Qiu Song
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 516650, ChinaZhongkai University of Agriculture and EngineeringGuangzhouChina
| | - Bin-E Xue
- College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, Guangdong, ChinaSouth China Agricultural UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Shi Shi
- College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaSouth China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of SciencesGuangzhouChina
| | - Yu-Ling Li
- College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaSouth China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of SciencesGuangzhouChina
| | - Shi-Xiao Luo
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 516650, ChinaZhongkai University of Agriculture and EngineeringGuangzhouChina
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Finch JTD, Power SA, Welbergen JA, Cook JM. Two's company, three's a crowd: co-occurring pollinators and parasite species in Breynia oblongifolia (Phyllanthaceae). BMC Evol Biol 2018; 18:193. [PMID: 30547744 PMCID: PMC6295073 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-018-1314-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Accepted: 11/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Obligate pollination mutualisms (OPMs) are specialized interactions in which female pollinators transport pollen between the male and female flowers of a single plant species and then lay eggs into those same flowers. The pollinator offspring hatch and feed upon some or all of the developing ovules pollinated by their mothers. Strong trait matching between plants and their pollinators in OPMs is expected to result in reciprocal partner specificity i.e., a single pollinator species using a single plant species and vice versa, and strict co-speciation. These issues have been studied extensively in figs and fig wasps, but little in the more recently discovered co-diversification of Epicephala moths and their Phyllanthaceae hosts. OPMs involving Epicephala moths are believed occur in approximately 500 species of Phyllanthaceae, making it the second largest OPM group after the Ficus radiation (> 750 species). In this study, we used a mixture of DNA barcoding, genital morphology and behavioral observations to determine the number of Epicephala moth species inhabiting the fruits of Breynia oblongifolia, their geographic distribution, pollinating behavior and phylogenetic relationships. RESULTS We found that B. oblongifolia hosts two species of pollinator that co-occurred at all study sites, violating the assumption of reciprocal specificity. Male and female genital morphologies both differed considerably between the two moth species. In particular, females differed in the shape of their ovipositors, eggs and oviposition sites. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that the two Epicephala spp. on B. oblongifolia likely co-exist due to a host switch. In addition, we discovered that Breynia fruits are also often inhabited by a third moth, an undescribed species of Herpystis, which is a non-pollinating seed parasite. CONCLUSIONS Our study reveals new complexity in interactions between Phyllantheae and Epicephala pollinators and highlights that host switching, co-speciation and non-pollinating seed parasites can shape species interactions in OPMs. Our finding that co-occurring Epicephala species have contrasting oviposition modes parallels other studies and suggests that such traits are important in Epicephala species coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. T. D. Finch
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Hawkesbury Campus, Western Sydney University, Science Rd, Richmond, NSW 2753 Australia
| | - S. A. Power
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Hawkesbury Campus, Western Sydney University, Science Rd, Richmond, NSW 2753 Australia
| | - J. A. Welbergen
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Hawkesbury Campus, Western Sydney University, Science Rd, Richmond, NSW 2753 Australia
| | - J. M. Cook
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Hawkesbury Campus, Western Sydney University, Science Rd, Richmond, NSW 2753 Australia
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Hembry DH, Raimundo RLG, Newman EA, Atkinson L, Guo C, Guimarães PR, Gillespie RG. Does biological intimacy shape ecological network structure? A test using a brood pollination mutualism on continental and oceanic islands. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:1160-1171. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2016] [Accepted: 03/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David H. Hembry
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California Berkeley California
| | - Rafael L. G. Raimundo
- Departamento de Ecologia Instituto de Biociências Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo SP Brazil
| | - Erica A. Newman
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment University of Arizona Tucson Arizona
| | - Lesje Atkinson
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California Berkeley California
| | - Chang Guo
- Department of Integrative Biology University of California Berkeley California
| | - Paulo R. Guimarães
- Departamento de Ecologia Instituto de Biociências Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo SP Brazil
| | - Rosemary G. Gillespie
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California Berkeley California
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Yao G, Cai J, Wu Y, Yang X, Oo TN, Moe AZ, Luo S. Taxonomic studies of Glochidion (Phyllanthaceae) from the Indo-China Peninsula (I): G. shanense, a new species from Myanmar. PHYTOKEYS 2018; 96:57-62. [PMID: 29670453 PMCID: PMC5904396 DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.96.24497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Based on morphological studies performed on live plants in the field and specimens deposited in herbaria, a new species, Glochidion shanense Gang Yao & Shixiao Luo (Phyllantheae, Phyllanthaceae), is here described and illustrated. The species is morphologically most similar to G. ellipticum Wight, but can be distinguished from the latter by having hairy branchlets, longer pedicels, uniseriate and narrowly triangular sepals of female flowers, 4-5-locular ovaries, stout and cylindric persistent style on fruits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Yao
- South China Limestone Plants Research Centre, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Jie Cai
- Plant Germplasm and Genomics Centre, Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Youheng Wu
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 1000049, China
| | - Xuefei Yang
- Key Laboratory of Economic Plants and Biotechnology and Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China
- Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw 05282, Myanmar
| | - Thaung Naing Oo
- Forest Research Institute, Forest Department, Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry, Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw 05282, Myanmar
| | - Aung Zaw Moe
- Forest Research Institute, Forest Department, Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry, Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw 05282, Myanmar
| | - Shixiao Luo
- South China Limestone Plants Research Centre, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
- Plant Germplasm and Genomics Centre, Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilisation, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 516650, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 1000049, China
- Key Laboratory of Economic Plants and Biotechnology and Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China
- Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw 05282, Myanmar
- Forest Research Institute, Forest Department, Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry, Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw 05282, Myanmar
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Luo SX, Yao G, Wang Z, Zhang D, Hembry DH. A Novel, Enigmatic Basal Leafflower Moth Lineage Pollinating a Derived Leafflower Host Illustrates the Dynamics of Host Shifts, Partner Replacement, and Apparent Coadaptation in Intimate Mutualisms. Am Nat 2017; 189:422-435. [PMID: 28350503 DOI: 10.1086/690623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Leafflower plant/leafflower moth brood pollination mutualisms are widespread in the Paleotropics. Leafflower moths pollinate leafflower plants, but their larvae consume a subset of the hosts' seeds. These interactions are highly phylogenetically constrained: six clades of leafflower plants are each associated with a unique clade of leafflower moths (Epicephala). Here, we report a previously unrecognized basal seventh pollinating Epicephala lineage-associated with the highly derived leafflower clade Glochidion-in Asia. Epicephala lanceolaria is a pollinator and seed predator of Glochidion lanceolarium. Phylogenetic inference indicates that the ancestor of E. lanceolaria most likely shifted onto the ancestor of G. lanceolarium and displaced the ancestral allospecific Epicephala pollinator in at least some host populations. The unusual and apparently coadapted aspects of the G. lanceolarium/E. lanceolaria reproductive cycles suggest that plant-pollinator coevolution may have played a role in this displacement and provide insights into the dynamics of host shifts and trait coevolution in this specialized mutualism.
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