Pollination and dispersal systems in a Cerrado remnant (Brazilian Savanna) in Southeastern Brazil

The aim of this work was to identify the pollination and dispersal systems among the species in a disjunct marginal cerrado area and to compare the frequency of these systems to those found in other Neotropical vegetation. The floral and diaspore traits and the pollination and dispersal systems of 176 species were analysed in a cerrado remnant in Southeastern Brazil. The most frequent pollination system was melittophily (63 percent of the studied species) with the remaining 37 percent distributed among diverse pollination systems. Zoochory was the predominant system of dispersal (44.9 percent). The frequencies of melittophily and zoochory observed in diverse tropical areas were the main feature that allowed the formation of distinct groups in the dendrograms generated by cluster analysis.

Biologia reprodutiva de Cattleya eldorado, uma espécie de Orchidaceae das campinas amazônicas / Reproductive biology of Cattleya eldorado, a species of Orchidaceae from the Amazonian white sand campinas

As Orchidaceae são muito apreciadas por suas flores exóticas e exuberantes. É a maior família de plantas apresentando mais de 24000 espécies, o que denota uma alta diversidade de formas e adaptações a diferentes ambientes, como também para atração, engano e manipulação de visitantes na realização da polinização cruzada. Cattleya eldorado ocorre em áreas de campinas, que são formações vegetais típicas da região amazônica, que se encontram sob forte ação antrópica. Este trabalho tem como um de seus principais objetivos conhecer parte dos processos biológicos de C. eldorado fornecendo subsídios para conservá-la e manejá-la em seu habitat natural. Este estudo foi desenvolvido na Reserva Biológica de Campina, de 2000 a 2006, durante a sua floração. C. eldorado é uma espécie epifítica que apresenta a síndrome de melitofilia, estando adaptada ao seu polinizador, a abelha Eulaema mocsaryi, que reconhece suas flores pelo odor e pelo estímulo visual através de sua coloração e reflexão de luz ultravioleta. C. eldorado é uma espécie autocompatível, embora necessite de um agente polinizador para a transferência do polinário até sua deposição na cavidade estigmática da flor.

The orchid plants are highly prized for their lush exotic flowers. It is the largest plant family with more than 24000 species, which indicates a high diversity of forms and adaptations to different environments, including the capacity to attract, deceive and manipulate visitors involved in cross-pollination. Cattleya eldorado occurs in areas of white sand campinas, a typical vegetation type of the Amazon region, which is under strong anthropogenic pressure. This work's main objectives to know the biological processes of C. eldorado providing subsidies to maintain and manage it in its natural habitat. This study was conducted from 2000 to 2006 in the Campina Biological Reserve, during its flowering period. C. eldorado is an epiphytic orchid species that has the melittophyly syndrome and is adapted to its pollinator, the bee Eulaema mocsaryi recognizing their flowers by smell and by visual stimuli, through their color and reflection of ultraviolet light. C. eldorado is self-compatible, even if it requires a pollinating agent for the transfer of the pollinarium until its deposition in the stigmatic cavity of the flower.

Polinização entomófila de abobrinha, Cucurbita moschata (Cucurbitaceae) / Entomophilic pollination of squash, Cucurbita moschata (Cucurbitaceae)

The objectives of this work were to determine the squash entomofauna in the region of Viçosa, Minas Gerais state, to study their behavior on flowers and their importance for pollination, verifying the role of each pollinator. The most common species were Trigona spinipes (Fabricius), Trigona hyalinata (Lepeletier), Apis mellifera (L.) and Melipona quadrifasciata (Lepeletier). The visitation behavior of A. mellifera, M. quadrifasciata, and Bombus morio (Swederus) were similar. They visited flowers for nectar collection, positioning themselves vertically between the corolla and the sexual structures of the flowers, with the back directed toward the floral axis, which permitted the removal of pollen from the anthers of flowers with stamens and its deposition on the stigma of flowers with pistils, being considered therefore effective pollinators. Trigona spinipes and T. hyalinata foraged in groups, preventing other species from landing on the flowers which they occupied. Due to their small body size and only infrequent contact with the sexual structures of the flowers, these species are considered occasional pollinators. The number of fruits produced differed between freely visited flowers, those prevented from receiving visits and those visited only a single time by M. quadrifasciata, B. morio, A. mellifera, T. hyalinata or T. spinipes. Flowers prevented from receiving visits or visited only once by T. spinipes did not produce fruits. The remaining pollination systems led to fruitification, with open pollination or a single visit from either M. quadrifasciata or B. morio leading to most fruit production.