Reproductive biology of Senna spectabilis (DC.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby (Fabaceae) - an invasive tree species in the tropical forests of the Western Ghats, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8534.16.5.25198-25208Keywords:
Breeding, Fabaceae, forest, invasive, reproduction, WayanadAbstract
Senna spectabilis (DC.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby is an invasive tree species native to tropical America and is commonly found in the forest areas of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Its aggressive growth rate and ability to quickly cover up open and degraded lands in forest ecosystems make it challenging to control its spread. Reproductive studies of S. spectabilis and its pollen-ovule ratio indicate this species is cross-pollinating. The species is self-compatible, owing to the simultaneous occurrence of xenogamy, geitonogamy and autogamy. This reproductive strategy helps the taxon to colonise degraded areas and invade the forest ecosystem. The anthesis is diurnal and sometimes asynchronous. Peak insect visitors were observed from 0900 h to 1230 h, with the major visitor being Tetragonula iridipennis. Xylocopa violaceae was also a regular visitor along with resident Formicidae members, such as Oecophylla smaragdina and Myrmicaria brunnae. They feed on the floral parts, like tender petals and sepals. The reproductive syndrome of this plant favours maximum fertilization.
References
Almeida, N.M., C.C. Castro, L.A.V. Leite, R.R. Novo & I.C. Machado (2013). Enantiostyly in Chamaecrista ramosa (Fabaceae- Caesalpinioideae): Floral morphology, pollen transfer dynamics and breeding system. Plant Biology 15: 369–375. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1438-8677.2012.00651.x.
Almeida, N.M., V.M. Cotarelli, D.P. Souza, R.R. Novo, S.J.A. Filho, P.E. Oliveira & C.C. Castro (2015). Enantiostylous types of Cassiinae species (Fabaceae- Caesalpinioideae). Plant Biology 17: 740–745. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.12283
Anderson, S. (1996). Floral display and pollination success in Senecio jacobaea (Asteraceae): interactive effects of head and corymb size. American Journal of Botany 83: 71–75. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1537-2197.1996.tb13876.x
Baker, I. & H.G. Baker (1979). Chemical constituents of the nectars of two Erythrina species and their hybrid. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 66: 446–450. https://doi.org/10.2307/2398837
Buchmann, S.L. (1974). Buzz pollination of Cassia quiedondilla (Leguminosae) by bees of the genera Centris and Melipona. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 73: 171–173. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/bee_lab_bo/270.
Cruden, R.W. (1977). Pollen ovule-ratios: A conservative indicator of breeding systems in flowering plants. Evolution 31: 22–46. https://doi.org/10.2307/2407542
Dafni, A., P.G. Keven & B.C. Husband (2005). Practical pollination biology. Enviroquest Ltd., Canada, 590 pp.
Hao, J.H., S. Qiang, T. Chrobock, M. Kleunen & Q.Q. Liu (2011). A test of baker’s law: breeding systems of invasive species of Asteraceae in China. Biological Invasions 13: 571–580. https://d-nb.info/111318941X/34
Haydak, M.H. (1970). Honey Bee Nutrition. Annual Review of Entomology 15: 143–156. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.15.010170.001043
Holsinger, K.E. (2000). Reproductive systems and evolution in vascular plants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 97: 7037–7042. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.97.13.7037
IPBES (2019). Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Brondizio, E.S., Settele, J., Díaz, S. and Ngo, H.T. (editors). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany, 1148 pp. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3831673
Irwin, H.S. & R.C. Barneby (1982). The American Cassiinae. Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden 35: 1–918.
Kleunen, M. & S.D. Johnson (2007). Effects of self compatibility on the distribution range of invasive European plants in North America. Conservation Biology 21: 1537–1544. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00765.x
Koshy, K.C. & G. Jee (2001). Studies on the absence of seed set in Bambusa vulgaris. Current Science 81: 375–377.
]Marazzi, B. & P.K. Endress (2008). Patterns and development of floral asymmetry in Senna (Leguminosae, Cassiinae). American Journal of Botany 95: 22–40.
Marazzi, B., E. Conti, M.J. Sanderson, M.M. McMahon & J.L. Bronstein (2013). Diversity and evolution of a trait mediating ant–plant interactions: Insights from extra floral nectaries in Senna (Leguminosae). Annals Botany 111: 1263–1275. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcs226
Milton, S.J. & A.V. Hall (1981). Reproductive biology of Australian acacias in the South- Western Cape Province, South Africa. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 44: 465–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/00359198109520589
Pannel, J.R. & S.C.H. Barret (1998). Baker’s Law revisited: Reproductive assurance in a metapopulation. Evolution 52: 657–668. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1998.tb03691.x
Pysek, P. & D.M. Richardson (2007). Traits associated with invasiveness in alien plants: where do we stand? Biological invasions. Nentwig, W. Springer Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, New York. 97 pp.
Radford, A.E., W.C. Dickison, J.R. Massey, & C.R. Bell (1974). Vascular plant systematics. Harper & Row Publishers, New York. 891 pp.
Raju, A.J.S. & C.S. Reddi (1994). Pollination ecology and mating system of the weedy mint Leonotis nepetaefolia R. Br. in India. Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy B60 3: 255–268.
Raju, A.J.S. & S.P. Rao (2004). Passerine bird pollination and fruiting behavior in dry season blooming tree species, Erythrina suberosa Roxb. (Fabaceae) in the Eastern Ghats forests, India. Ornithological Science 3: 139-144. https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.3.139
Rambuda, T.O. & S.O. Johnson (2004). Breeding systems of invasive alien plants in South Africa: does baker’s rule apply? Divers Distribution 10: 409–416. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1366-9516.2004.00100.x
Rasmussen, C. (2013). Stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) of the Indian subcontinent: Diversity, taxonomy and current status of knowledge. Zootaxa 3647(3): 401–428. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3647.3.1
Rejmánek, M. & D.M. Richardson (2013). Trees and shrubs as invasive alien species–2013 update of the global database. Diversity and distributions 19(8), 1093–1094. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12075
Richardson, D.M., N. Allsopp, C.M. D’Antonio, S.J. Milton & M. Rejmánek (2000). Plant invasions- The role of mutualisms. Biological Reviews 75: 65–93. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0006323199005435
Richardson, D.M. & M. Rejmánek (2011). Trees and shrubs as invasive alien species–a global review. Diversity and distributions 17(5): 788–809. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2011.00782.x
Richardson, D.M., C. Hui, M.A. Nunez & A. Pauchard (2014). Tree invasions: Patterns, processes, challenges and opportunities. Biological Invasions 16: 473–481. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0606-9
Rodger, J.G., M. Kleunen & S.D. Johnson (2010). Does specialized pollination impede plant invasions?. International Journal of Plant Science 171: 382–391. https://doi.org/10.1086/651226
Sakai, A.K., F.W. Allendorf, J.S. Holt, D.M. Lodge, J. Molofsky, S. Baughman, R.J. Cabin, J.E. Cohen, N.C. Ellstr, D.E. McCauley, P. O’Neil, I.M. Parker, J.N. Thompson & S.G. Weller (2001). Population biology of invasive species. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 32: 305–332. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.32.081501.114037
Satyanarayana, P. & G. Gnanasekaran (2013). An exotic tree species Senna spectabilis (DC.) Irwin & Barneby (Caesalpiniaceae) - Naturalized in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Indian Journal of Forestry 36(2): 243–246. https://doi.org/10.54207/bsmps1000-2013-FBBSV3
Souza, V.C., L.V. Andrade & Z.G.M. Quirino (2016). Floral biology of Sesbania virgata: An invasive species in the Agreste of Paraiba, Northeastern Brazil. Rodriguesia 67(4): 871–878. https://doi.org/10.1590/2175-7860201667402
Stout, J.C. (2007). Pollination of invasive Rhododendron ponticum (Ericaceae) in Ireland. Apidologie 38: 198–206. https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:2006071
Tamnet, R., E. Youmbi & G.T. Ndzomo (2011). Optimization of maintaining factors of Senna spectabilis pollens: A bee species of Adamawa’s Flora (Cameroon). Asian Journal of Biotechnology 3: 125–134. https://doi.org/10.3923/ajbkr.2011.125.134
Thuiller, W., D.M. Richardson, M. Rouget, S. Proches & J.R.U. Wilson (2006). Interactions between environment, species traits and human uses describe patterns of plant invasions. Ecology 87: 1755–1769. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[1755:ibesta]2.0.co;2
Tuinstra, M.R. & J. Wedel (2000). Estimation of pollen viability in Sorghum. Crop Science 40: 968–970. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2000.404968x
Vila, M. & J. Weiner (2004). Are invasive plant species better competitors than native plant species? Evidence from pair-wise experiments. Oikos 105: 229–239. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2004.12682.x
Werner, P. & R. Zahner (2009). Biodiversity and cities. A bibliography. BfN-Skripten, Bonn, 245 pp.
Williamson, M. (1996). Biological Invasions, Chapman and Hall, London. 256 pp.
Williamson, M.H. & A. Fitter (1996). The characters of successful invaders. Biological Conservation 78: 163–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(96)00025-0
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 K. Muraleekrishnan, Sanal C. Viswanath, T.K. Hrideek
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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.
