Citation
Clarke Charles, . The effects of pitcher dimorphism on the metazoan community of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes bicalcarata Hook. f. pp. 149-157. ISSN 0025-1291
Abstract
The effects of pitcher dimosphism on the metazoan community of the pitcher plant Nepenthes bicalcarata were investigated. Nepenthes commonly produce two different types of pitchers often referred to as lower and upper depending on the age and developmental stage of the plant. It was found that lower pitchers of N. bicalcarata were significantly larger and contain larger quantities of fluid than upper pitchers but that the two pitcher types were of an otherwise similar structure. The effect of the larger volumes in the lower pitchers was to allow larger numbers of species to colonise them coupled with an increase in numbers of the three most abundant species in the community. The majority of metazoan species were not affected either in terms of abundance or in colonising ability by the differences between upper and lower pitchers. Food web structure was also not affected as the difference in species richness between the two pitcher types was not reflected in the feeding guilds of organisms which have a greater influence on the values of the food web statistics than actual species numbers. It was concluded that pitcher dimorphism in N. bicalcarata does not affect metazoan food web structure but that some metazoan species may be more abundant in the lower pitchers as a result of their greater size.
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Abstract
The effects of pitcher dimosphism on the metazoan community of the pitcher plant Nepenthes bicalcarata were investigated. Nepenthes commonly produce two different types of pitchers often referred to as lower and upper depending on the age and developmental stage of the plant. It was found that lower pitchers of N. bicalcarata were significantly larger and contain larger quantities of fluid than upper pitchers but that the two pitcher types were of an otherwise similar structure. The effect of the larger volumes in the lower pitchers was to allow larger numbers of species to colonise them coupled with an increase in numbers of the three most abundant species in the community. The majority of metazoan species were not affected either in terms of abundance or in colonising ability by the differences between upper and lower pitchers. Food web structure was also not affected as the difference in species richness between the two pitcher types was not reflected in the feeding guilds of organisms which have a greater influence on the values of the food web statistics than actual species numbers. It was concluded that pitcher dimorphism in N. bicalcarata does not affect metazoan food web structure but that some metazoan species may be more abundant in the lower pitchers as a result of their greater size.
Additional Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | Summary (En) |
| AGROVOC Term: | CARNIVOROUS PLANTS |
| AGROVOC Term: | PLANT COMMUNITIES |
| AGROVOC Term: | PLANT ANATOMY |
| AGROVOC Term: | PLANT NUTRITION |
| AGROVOC Term: | FOOD CHAINS |
| AGROVOC Term: | BRUNEI DARUSSALAM PLANTAS CARNIVORAS |
| AGROVOC Term: | COMUNIDADES VEGETALES |
| AGROVOC Term: | ANATOMIA DE LA PLANTA |
| AGROVOC Term: | NUTRICION DE LAS PLANTAS |
| AGROVOC Term: | CADENA ALIMENTARIA |
| Depositing User: | Ms. Norfaezah Khomsan |
| Last Modified: | 24 Apr 2025 05:52 |
| URI: | http://webagris.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/17470 |
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