| Abstract Detail
Pollination Biology Peña, Paola [1], Moreno, Mauro [1], Oleas, Nora H [2]. Reproductive biology can provide with additional evidence for natural hybridization in Amaryllidaceae. Three Amaryllidaceae species live in sympatry inside the crater of the Pululahua volcano in Ecuador. Phaedranassa viridiflora is an endangered and endemic species to Ecuador. Phaedranassa dubia and Stenomesson aurantiacum have a wider geographic distribution, being found from Ecuador to Colombia. Genetic studies provide evidence of natural hybridization between Phaedranassa species in the Pululahua crater. A putative hybrid between P. viridiflora and P. dubia has been identified. However, there are no reproductive studies of these species. Between August and November 2013, we monitored 30 individuals per species in order to estimate fruit production. Also, we tested pollen viability with lactophenol cotton blue. We found that P. dubia flowered mostly in August and September, S. aurantiacum in September and October, P. viridiflora from late August to October, and the putative hybrid P. viridiflora x P. dubia in November. However, there was some overlap of the flowering time of the species. Fructification rate varied among species. Most of S. aurantiacum individuals produced fruits and seeds (23 individuals, 76%), followed by P. dubia (17 individuals, 56%). All the flowers of P. viridiflora and the hybrids were aborted, thus none of the observed individuals produced fruits with seeds. We found viable pollen in S. aurantiacum and P. dubia. The pollen from P. viridiflora and the hybrids were not viable and had amorphous shapes, which further supports hybridization. About pollinators, we observed metallic bees (Agapostemon sp.) visiting flowers of all the species. These findings might explain the gene flow previously reported between Phaedranassa species. Further studies should look at the possibility of gene flow between Phaedranassa species and S. aurantiacum.
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1 - Universidad Central del Ecuador, Carrera de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Ciudadela Universitaria Av. América, Quito, Ecuador
2 - Machala y Sabanilla, Centro para la Investigacion y Conservacion de la Biodiversidad - BioCamb, Quito, Ecuador
Keywords:
fruit production
hybridization
pollen viability
Andes.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 40
Location: Firs South/Boise Centre
Date: Wednesday, July 30th, 2014
Time: 2:30 PM
Number: 40005
Abstract ID:525
Candidate for Awards:None |
