Pollination ecology and fruiting behavior of Pavetta indica L. (Rubiaceae), a keystone shrub species in the southern Eastern Ghats forest, Andhra Pradesh, India
Main Article Content
Abstract
Pavetta indica is a massive bloomer for a brief period in May. The flowers are hermaphroditic, strikingly protandrous, self and cross-compatible, nectariferous and psychophilous. They possess secondary pollen presentation mechanism as a device to avoid autonomous autogamy but it does not prevent geitonogamy. The fruit set largely occurs through geitonogamy and xenogamy. Butterflies, especially papilionids, pierids, nymphalids, and sphingid hawk moth pollinate the flowers while collecting nectar. Honey bees and blue-banded digger bees feed on pollen and effect only accidental pollination. The nectar is sucrose-rich and contains essential and non-essential amino acids. Birds are seed dispersal agents. Seeds are non-dormant and germinate readily during rainy season but their continued growth and establishment is subject to the availability of soil moisture and nutrients. The plant is not able to populate itself in its natural area. The local uses of different parts of the plant have been found to be affecting its reproductive success and natural regeneration rate. Therefore, regulation of the uses of this plant is recommended for its survival and restoration of its population size in the natural areas due to its role as a keystone species for bees and butterflies during dry season.
ÂArticle Details
Authors own the copyright to the articles published in JoTT. This is indicated explicitly in each publication. The authors grant permission to the publisher Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD) Society to publish the article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The authors recognize WILD as the original publisher, and to sell hard copies of the Journal and article to any buyer. JoTT is registered under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY), which allows authors to retain copyright ownership. Under this license the authors allow anyone to download, cite, use the data, modify, reprint, copy and distribute provided the authors and source of publication are credited through appropriate citations (e.g., Son et al. (2016). Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the southeastern Truong Son Mountains, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(7): 8953–8969. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2785.8.7.8953-8969). Users of the data do not require specific permission from the authors or the publisher.
References
Baker, H.G. & I. Baker (1973). Some anthecological aspects of evolution of nectar-producing flowers, particularly amino acid production in nectar, pp. 243–264. In: Heywood, V.H. (ed.). Taxonomy and Ecology. Academic Press, London.
Baker, H.G. & I. Baker (1982). Chemical constituents of nectar in relation to pollination mechanisms and phylogeny, pp. 131–171. In: Nitecki, M.H. (ed.). Biochemical Aspects of Evolutionary Biology. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Baker, H.G. & I. Baker (1983). A brief historical review of the chemistry of floral nectar, pp. 126-152. In: Bentley, B. & T. Elias (eds.). The Biology of Nectaries. Columbia University Press, New York.
Balasubramanian, M.V. (1990). Studies on the ecology of butterfly pollination in south India. Part-II. Pollination of Pavetta indica Linn. (Rubiaceae). Annals of Entomology 8: 71–78.
Bremekamp, C.E.B. (1934). A monograph of the genus Pavetta L. Feddes Repertorium 37: 1–208.
Bridson, D.M. (2003). 82. Pavetta L. In: G.V.Pope. Flora zambesiaca 5: 543–598.
Burkhardt, D. (1964). Colour discrimination in insects. Advances in Insect Physiology 2: 131–173; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2806(08)60073-9
Cruden, R.W. (1977). Pollen-ovule ratios: a conservative indicator of breeding systems in flowering plants. Evolution 31: 32-46; http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2407542
Cruden, R.W., S.M. Hermann & S. Peterson (1983). Plant-pollinator coevolution, pp. 80–125. In: Bentley, B. & T. Elias (eds.). The Biology of Nectaries. Columbia University Press, New York.
Dafni, A., P.G. Kevan & B.C. Husband (2005). Practical Pollination Biology. Enviroquest Ltd., Ontario, 583pp.
De Block, P. & E. Robbrecht (1998). Pollen morphology of the Pavetteae (Rubiaceae, Ixoroideae) and its taxonomic significance. Grana 37: 260–275; http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00173139809362678
DeGroot, A.P. (1953). Protein and amino acid requirements of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.). Physiologia Comparata et Oecologia 3: 197–285.
Faegri, K. & L. van der Pijl (1979). The Principles of Pollination Ecology. Pergamon Press, Oxford, 244pp.
Gardener, M.C. & M.P. Gillman (2001). The effects of soil fertilizer on amino acids in the floral nectar of corncockle, Agrostemma githago L. (Caryophyllaceae). Oikos 92: 101–106; http://dx.doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2001.920112.x
Guptha, M.B., P.V.C. Rao & D.S. Reddy (2012). A preliminary observation on butterflies of Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve, Eastern Ghats, Andhra Pradesh, India. World Journal of Zoology 7: 83–89; http://dx.doi.org/10.5829/idosi.wjz.2012.7.1.61323
Harborne, J.B. (1973). Phytochemical Methods. Chapman and Hall, London, 288pp.
Howell, G.J., A.T. Slater A.T. & R.B. Knox (1993). Secondary pollen presentation in angiosperms and its biological significance. Australian Journal of Botany 41: 417–438; http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/BT9930417
Jervis, M.A. & C.L. Boggs (2005). Linking nectar amino acids to fitness in female butterflies. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 20: 585–587; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2005.08.015
Johnson, D.S. & G. Nichols (2002). Gardening with Indigenous Shrubs. Struik Timmins Publishers, Cape Town, 98pp.
Kato, M. (1996). Plant-pollinator interactions in the understory of a lowland mixed dipterocap forest in Sarawak. American Journal of Botany 83: 732–743.
Kato, M., Y. Kosaka, A. Kawakita, Y. Okuyama, C. Kobayashi, T. Phimminith & D. Thongphan (2008). Plant-pollinator interactions in tropical monsoon forests in Southeast Asia. American Journal of Botany 95: 1375–1394; http://dx.doi.org/10.3732/ajb.0800114
Kevan, P.G. & H.G. Baker (1983). Insects as flower visitors and pollinators. Annual Review of Entomology 28: 407–453; http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.28.010183.002203
Kingsolver, J.G. & T.L. Daniel (1979). On the mechanics and energetics of nectar feeding in butterflies. Journal of Theoretical Biology 76: 167–179; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0022-5193(79)90368-0
Kok, P.D.F. & N. Grobbelaar (1984). Studies on Pavetta (Rubiaceae) 2. Enumeration of species and synonymy. South African Journal of Botany 3: 185–187.
Mabberley, D.J. (1997). The Plant - Book. A Portable Dictionary of the Higher Plants. 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1040pp.
Momose, K., T. Yumoto, T. Nagamitsu, M. Kato, M. Nagamitsu, S. Sakai & D. Harrison (1998). Pollination biology in a lowland dipterocarp forest in Sarawak, Malaysia. I. Characteristics of the plant-pollinator community in a lowland dipterocarp forest. American Journal of Botany 85: 1477–1501.
Murali, K.S. & R. Sukumar (1994). Reproductive phenology of a tropical dry forest in Mudumalai, southern India. Journal of Ecology 82: 759–767; http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2261441
Nilsson, L.A., E. Rabakonandrianina, B. Perterson & J. Ranaivo (1990). “Ixoroid†secondary pollen presentation by small moths in the Malagasy treelet Ixora platythyrsa (Rubiaceae). Plant Systematics and Evolution 170: 161–175.
Puff, C., K. Chayamarit & V. Chamchumroon (2005). Rubiaceae of Thailand. A pictorial guide to indigenous and cultivated genera. The Forest Herbarium, National Park, Wildlife and Conservation Department, Bangkok, 245pp.
Reynolds, S.T. (1993). The genus Pavetta L. (Rubiaceae) in Australia. Austrobaileya 4: 21–49.
Robbrecht, E. (1988). Tropical woody Rubiaceae. Opera Botanica Belgica 1: 1–271.
Santapau, H. & A.N. Henry (1972). A Dictionary of the Flowering Plants in India. CSIR Publications, New Delhi, 126pp.
Schmidt, E., M. Lotter & W. McCleland (2002). Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park, Jacana. Johannesburg, 256pp.
Tao, C. & C.M. Taylor (2011). Pavetta L. Flora of China 19: 287–290.
Van Wyk, P. (1974). Trees of the Kruger National Park. Purnell, Cape Town, 597pp.
Yeo, P.F. (2012). Secondary Pollen Presentation: Form, Function and Evolution. Springer Science & Business Media, 269pp.