Fruit set and the diurnal pollinators of the invasive Lantana camara and the endemic Lantana peduncularis in the Galapagos Islands. Issue 3 (5th August 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Carrión‐Tacuri, Jorge; Berjano, Regina; Guerrero, Giovanny; Figueroa, Enrique; Tye, Alan; Castillo, Jesus M.
• Is Part Of: Weed biology and management. Volume 14:Issue 3(2014)
• Page Start: 209
• Page End: 219
• Publication Date: 2014-08-05
• Subjects: Weeds -- Periodicals; Weeds -- Control -- Periodicals; 632.5
• DOI: 10.1111/wbm.12048
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1444-6162

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>Fruit set is highly relevant to a plant's reproductive success. Fruit set can vary due to predation on flowers, pollinator services and/or resource availability. Reproductive success, measured as the fruit set of the invasive <italic>Lantana camara</italic> and the endemic <italic>Lantana peduncularis</italic> in the cool–dry season and the warm–wet season of the Galapagos Islands, was studied. Also, autonomous self‐pollination ability and seed viability were probed for both species. Furthermore, flower visitors and their activity were registered for both species during the warm–wet season. <italic>Lantana peduncularis</italic> produced fewer flowers per inflorescence, but had a higher fruit set in the cool–dry season, compared to the warm–wet season. In contrast, the fruit set in <italic>L. camara</italic> did not change seasonally. The fruit set in <italic>L. camara</italic> was higher than in <italic>L. peduncularis</italic> in the warm–wet season. Moreover, ∼18% of the bagged flowers of the invasive <italic>Lantana</italic> produced fruits by autonomous self‐pollination, while for the endemic <italic>Lantana</italic>, the rate of autonomous self‐pollination was very low. More than 80% of the fruits for both species had at least one viable seed per fruit. The number of pollinators and their frequency, inflorescence‐ and flower‐visiting rates and the duration of the visit per flower were higher in the invasive <italic>Lantana</italic> than in the endemic one. The endemic Lepidoptera <italic>Urbanus galapagensis</italic> (the main pollinator of both <italic>Lantana</italic> species) and the introduced <italic>Hymenia perspectalis</italic> were observed pollinating both <italic>Lantana</italic> species. These results indicate that the alien <italic>L. camara</italic> is more attractive to pollinators and it has reproductive advantages regarding fruit set in comparison with <italic>L. peduncularis</italic>, factors that contribute to the colonization pattern of this invasive species.</p> </abstract>