Water stress and phenological synchronism between Copaifera langsdorffii (Fabaceae) and multiple galling insects: formation of seasonal patterns

[摘要] The gall-induction rates in a population of the superhost Copaifera langsdorffii, located in a rocky field vegetation in Brazil, should follow sprouting events and water availability. The presence or absence of leaf flushing, the activity index for the vegetative phenophases, and the water potential were used to test this hypothesis, and ordination via canonical correspondence analysis was employed to test possible synchronisms. Based on 6881 sampled galls, three seasonal syndromes were observed for nine distinct morphotypes along a one-year cycle. The first syndrome related the decrease in the abundance of horn-shaped and cup-shaped galls with dry season. The second one revealed that other four morphotypes adjusted their cycles to leaf flushing, and the third syndrome involved three galls which occurred homogeneously along the year, with a tenuous peak of abundance in July. These syndromes reflect a strategy towards the occupation of distinct temporal niches on the same host plant.

[学科分类] 纳米科学和纳米技术

[关键词] gall diversity;hygrothermal hypothesis;plant phenology;plant-interaction;gall-induction competition