| dc.description.abstract | Background and Aims
Large clades of angiosperms are often characterized by diverse interactions with pollinators, but how these pollination systems are structured phylogenetically and biogeographically is still uncertain for most families. Apocynaceae is a clade of >5300 species with a worldwide distribution. A database representing >10 % of species in the family was used to explore the diversity of pollinators and evolutionary shifts in pollination systems across major clades and regions.
Methods
The database was compiled from published and unpublished reports. Plants were categorized into broad pollination systems and then subdivided to include bimodal systems. These were mapped against the five major divisions of the family, and against the smaller clades. Finally, pollination systems were mapped onto a phylogenetic reconstruction that included those species for which sequence data are available, and transition rates between pollination systems were calculated.
Key Results
Most Apocynaceae are insect pollinated with few records of bird pollination. Almost three-quarters of species are pollinated by a single higher taxon (e.g. flies or moths); 7 % have bimodal pollination systems, whilst the remaining approx. 20 % are insect generalists. The less phenotypically specialized flowers of the Rauvolfioids are pollinated by a more restricted set of pollinators than are more complex flowers within the Apocynoids + Periplocoideae + Secamonoideae + Asclepiadoideae (APSA) clade. Certain combinations of bimodal pollination systems are more common than others. Some pollination systems are missing from particular regions, whilst others are over-represented.
Conclusions
Within Apocynaceae, interactions with pollinators are highly structured both phylogenetically and biogeographically. Variation in transition rates between pollination systems suggest constraints on their evolution, whereas regional differences point to environmental effects such as filtering of certain pollinators from habitats. This is the most extensive analysis of its type so far attempted and gives important insights into the diversity and evolution of pollination systems in large clades. | en_GB |
| dc.description.sponsorship | We offer grateful thanks to all of the authors of studies that we have included in our database, which reflects a research effort that goes back over 100 years. Funding for fieldwork to JO and his group was obtained from The British Ecological Society, the Percy Sladen Memorial Fund, the Royal Society and the University of Northampton. JO would like to thank the many field assistants and in-country contacts who helped with data collection, species identification, accommodation and field sites in Australia, Gabon, Guyana, Namibia, Tanzania, Peru and South Africa. AAC, APW, LG and CT thank CONICET, FONCyT and SECyT for financial support. LPCM thanks São Paulo Research Foundation – Fapesp (grants #2013/50155-0, #2010/51307-0) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – CNPq (PVE 400717/2013-1; PQ 1D Researcher) for funding, and PELD-CRSC-17, Serra do Cipó National Park, Cedro Company, and Vellozia Reserve for supporting fieldwork. MS thanks Fapesp, Faepex/Unicamp/CAPES and CNPq for financial support. AS, SLS, CIP, SDJ and YC thank the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa for funding; AS, SLS and YC also thank Jeremy Midgley for collaborative support. AR and LF are CNPq Pq-1D researchers. HK wishes to thank the following entomologists for identifying specimens: Alan Martin (Sphingidae), Ezequiel Osvaldo Núñez Bustos (Lepidoptera), Bolívar R. Garcete-Barrett (Vespidae), Helcio Gil Santana (Hemiptera), Leopoldo Álvarez and Mariano Lucia (Apidae), Ayr Bello (Coleoptera), Cecilia Waichert (Pompilidae), Carolina Paris (Formicidae) and Woody Fitzgerald (Bibionidae). CK thanks FAPERJ, and ICSB thanks CAPES, for financial support, and both are grateful to the following entomologists who identified insects: Felipe Vivallo (Apidae), Fabio Prezoto (Vespidae), Dalton de Souza Amorim (Diptera), Leandro Silva Barbosa (Diptera), Alexandre Soares (Lepidoptera), Luiz Alves da Costa (Hemiptera) and Paulo Roberto Magno (Coleoptera). SP acknowledges funding support from the Science and Engineering Research Board of India for systematic and ecological studies of Indian Ceropegia. MCG thanks Rio de Janeiro Research Foundation – Faperj (grant E-26111.271-2014) and CNPq (PQ 2 Researcher) and also thanks the following entomologists for identifying specimens: Gabriel A. R. Melo and Brunno B. Rosa (Hymenoptera), Diego R. Dolibaina (Lepidoptera) and Paschoal C. Grossi (Coleoptera). LHF was supported by a Masters scholarship from CAPES. L. Civeyrel was supported by the French Laboratory of Excellence project “TULIP” (ANR-10-LABX-41; ANR-11-IDEX-0002-02).
LITERATURE CITED | en_GB |
