Relationship between corolla length and floral larceny in

CARLOS URCELAY1*, CAROLINA L. MORALES2 & VANINA R. CHALCOFF2

ANNALES BOTANICI FENNICI

Lugar: Helsinski; Año: 2006 p. 1 - 7

0003-3847

Flowers with pink or red tubular corollas have been traditionally viewed as adapted for pollination by birds. However, tubular .owers frequently suffer illegitimate visits by nectar robbers. Campsidium valdivianum (Bignoniaceae) is an endemic hummingbirdpollinated climber with pinkish-red tubular .owers, which suffers high levels of .oral larceny by a native bumblebee. We studied two populations of C. valdivianum in an Andean forest in South America and found that they differ signi.cantly in their mean corolla length but not in their mean corolla width. The proportion of robbed .owers, as well as the mean number of holes per robbed .ower was higher in the population with higher mean corolla length. Although robbing levels also differed between individuals within populations, corolla length was only signi.cantly related to robbing frequency in the population with longest corollas. The positive relationship between corolla length and nectar robbing observed here might affect the .tness in this species and thus the direction and magnitude of selection of the .oral trait.Campsidium valdivianum (Bignoniaceae) is an endemic hummingbirdpollinated climber with pinkish-red tubular .owers, which suffers high levels of .oral larceny by a native bumblebee. We studied two populations of C. valdivianum in an Andean forest in South America and found that they differ signi.cantly in their mean corolla length but not in their mean corolla width. The proportion of robbed .owers, as well as the mean number of holes per robbed .ower was higher in the population with higher mean corolla length. Although robbing levels also differed between individuals within populations, corolla length was only signi.cantly related to robbing frequency in the population with longest corollas. The positive relationship between corolla length and nectar robbing observed here might affect the .tness in this species and thus the direction and magnitude of selection of the .oral trait.C. valdivianum in an Andean forest in South America and found that they differ signi.cantly in their mean corolla length but not in their mean corolla width. The proportion of robbed .owers, as well as the mean number of holes per robbed .ower was higher in the population with higher mean corolla length. Although robbing levels also differed between individuals within populations, corolla length was only signi.cantly related to robbing frequency in the population with longest corollas. The positive relationship between corolla length and nectar robbing observed here might affect the .tness in this species and thus the direction and magnitude of selection of the .oral trait.