Host specificity and low reproductive success in the rare endemic Puerto Rican orchid Lepanthes caritensis
Host specificity and low reproductive success in the rare endemic Puerto Rican orchid Lepanthes caritensis
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罕见的波多黎各特有兰花 Lepanthes caritensis 的寄主特异性和低繁殖成功率
DOI：
10.1016/s0006-3207(97)00163-8
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发表时间：
1998
影响因子：
5.9
通讯作者：
Janice Alers
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
R. Tremblay;J. Zimmerman;L. Lebrón;P. Bayman;Inés Sastre;F. Axelrod;Janice Alers
树宿主特异性在兰花中是不寻常的。在这里，我们展示了一种罕见的兰花的宿主特异性，并描述了宿主特异性的其他潜在原因。Lepanthes caritensis只出现在波多黎各的Carite State Forest。我们找到L了Caritensis仅在一种乔木--圭亚那微瓣兰（Micropholis guyanensis）的最大个体上生长，限制了兰花仅占潜在乔木群落> 5cm胸径的7%。兰花的发生与M. guyanensis。从树皮培养的未描述的真菌的丰度与兰花的存在呈负相关。兰花果实产量低并不罕见，但在L。Caritensis似乎异常低;在16个月的观察期间，68只成虫没有产生果实。如果这种低繁殖成功率的趋势随着时间的推移得到证实，这将为L的稀有提供一个明显的解释。caritensis。我们的研究结果提出了管理L. caritensis，但也揭示了热带兰花生物学的方面（例如真菌和苔藓对兰花建立的重要性），需要更彻底的调查。
Tree host specificity is unusual in orchids. Here we show host specificity in a rare orchid and describe other potential causes of host specificity. Lepanthes caritensis occurs only in Carite State Forest, Puerto Rico. We found L. caritensis only on the largest individuals of one species of tree, Micropholis guyanensis, limiting the orchid to only 7% of the potential tree community > 5 cm dbh. Orchid occurrence was associated with high moss cover on M. guyanensis. The abundance of undescribed fungi cultured from tree bark was negatively associated with orchid presence. Low fruit production in orchids is not uncommon, but reproductive success in L. caritensis appeared to be unusually low; no fruits were produced by 68 adults during 16 months of observation. If this trend of low reproductive success is borne out over time, it would suggest an obvious explanation for the rarity of L. caritensis. Our results suggest ways to manage populations of L. caritensis, but also reveal aspects of tropical orchid biology (e.g. the importance of fungi and mosses for orchid establishment) which require more thorough investigation.