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Janeček Š, Chmel K, Mlíkovský J, Uceda-Gómez G, Janečková P, Fominka NT, Njie MM, Ewome FL. Spatiotemporal pattern of specialization of sunbird-plant networks on Mt. Cameroon. Oecologia 2022; 199:885-896. [PMID: 35947185 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05234-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
Differences in interaction specializations between nectarivorous birds and plants across continents serve as common examples of evolutionary trajectory specificity. While New World hummingbird-plant networks have been extensively studied and are considered highly specialized, knowledge on the network specialization of their Old World counterparts, sunbirds (Nectariniidae), remains limited. A few studies from tropical Africa indicate that sunbird-plant networks are rather generalized. Unfortunately, these studies are limited to dry seasons and high elevations at the tree line, environments where niche-based hypotheses also often predict lower resource partitioning. In our study, we explored the specialization of sunbird-plant networks and their spatiotemporal variability on Mt. Cameroon (Cameroon). Using a combination of automatic video recordings and personal observations, we constructed eight comprehensive sunbird-plant networks in four forest types at different elevations in both the dry and wet seasons. As reported in previous studies, the montane forest plants, birds and whole networks were highly generalized. Nevertheless, we observed a much higher specialization in forests at lower elevations. Except at the lowest altitude, the wet season was also characterized by higher specialization. While less specialized flowering trees dominated in the dry season networks, more specialized herbs and shrubs were visited by birds during the wet season. As our findings do not support the generally accepted assumption that Old World bird-plant networks are rather generalized, we need further studies to understand the differences in bird-plant specializations on individual continents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Štěpán Janeček
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Kryštof Chmel
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Mlíkovský
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Guillermo Uceda-Gómez
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Janečková
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Nestoral Tajaocha Fominka
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic.,Department of Zoology and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, P.O. Box 63, Buea, Cameroon
| | - Marcus Mokake Njie
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic.,National Forestry School, Mbalmayo, P.O. Box 69, Yaounde, Cameroon
| | - Francis Luma Ewome
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic
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Janeček Š, Chmel K, Ewome FL, Hrubá K, Klomberg Y, Kobe IN, Kouede RD, Mertens JEJ, Njie MM, Tropek R. Differences in Nectar Traits between Ornithophilous and Entomophilous Plants on Mount Cameroon. Plants (Basel) 2021; 10:1161. [PMID: 34200999 PMCID: PMC8226534 DOI: 10.3390/plants10061161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2021] [Revised: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Despite a growing number of studies, the role of pollinators as a selection agent for nectar traits remains unclear. Moreover, the lack of data from some biogeographic regions prohibits us from determining their general importance and global patterns. We analyzed nectar carbohydrate traits and determined the main pollinators of 66 plant species in the tropical forests of Mount Cameroon (tropical West Africa). The measured nectar traits included total sugar amounts and proportions of sucrose and hexoses (i.e., glucose and fructose). We report the nectar properties for plants visited by five pollinator groups (bees, butterflies, moths, hoverflies, and specialized birds). Our results indicate that, rather than specific evolution in each of the five plant groups, there was a unique nectar-trait evolution in plants pollinated by specialized birds. The ornithophilous plants had a higher proportion of sucrose and produced larger sugar amounts than the plants pollinated by insects. We also demonstrated a significant phylogenetic signal in the nectar properties in some lineages of the studied plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Štěpán Janeček
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ-128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic; (K.C.); (Y.K.); (I.N.K.); (J.E.J.M.); (R.T.)
| | - Kryštof Chmel
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ-128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic; (K.C.); (Y.K.); (I.N.K.); (J.E.J.M.); (R.T.)
- Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, CZ-370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic;
| | | | - Karolína Hrubá
- Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, CZ-370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic;
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, CZ-370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Yannick Klomberg
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ-128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic; (K.C.); (Y.K.); (I.N.K.); (J.E.J.M.); (R.T.)
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2, 2233 CR Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ishmeal N. Kobe
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ-128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic; (K.C.); (Y.K.); (I.N.K.); (J.E.J.M.); (R.T.)
| | - Raissa Dywou Kouede
- Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Herzing University, 1865 SR 436, Winter Park, Orlando, FL 32792, USA;
| | - Jan E. J. Mertens
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ-128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic; (K.C.); (Y.K.); (I.N.K.); (J.E.J.M.); (R.T.)
| | - Marcus Mokake Njie
- Department of Zoology and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Buea 63, Cameroon;
| | - Robert Tropek
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ-128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic; (K.C.); (Y.K.); (I.N.K.); (J.E.J.M.); (R.T.)
- Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, CZ-370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic;
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