Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2010.00684.x |
| Title (Primary) | Analyzing the spatial structure of Broughtonia cubensis (Orchidaceae) populations in the dry forests of Guanahacabibes, Cuba |
| Author | Raventós, J.; Mujica, E.; Wiegand, T.; Bonet, A. |
| Source Titel | Biotropica |
| Year | 2011 |
| Department | OESA |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Page From | 173 |
| Page To | 182 |
| Language | englisch |
| Keywords | epiphyte ecology; mark correlation functions; orchid; point pattern analysis |
| Abstract | A current key issue in ecology is the role of spatial effects on population and community dynamics. In this paper, we test several hypotheses related to spatial structures and coexistence of epiphytic tropical orchid species with special emphasis on the endemic species Broughtonia cubensis. More specifically, we explored the spatial structure of orchid-host plant communities at three different levels of organization (occupied vs. nonoccupied host trees, trees with B. cubensis vs. other orchids, and reproductive vs. nonreproductive B. cubensis plants). We mapped all potential host trees and orchids at three 20 × 20 m plots and applied techniques of spatial point pattern analysis such as mark connection and mark correlation functions to evaluate departures from randomized communities. We found spatial aggregation of trees with epiphytic orchids and segregation between trees with and without epiphytic orchids, and that there was an intraspecific spatial aggregation of B. cubensis in relation to the other seven epiphytic orchid species. Furthermore, we found spatial aggregation of reproductive B. cubensis individuals and segregation between reproductive and nonreproductive individuals on their phorophytes. Thus, orchid-host plant communities show hierarchical spatial structuring with aggregation and segregation at different levels of organization. Our results point to an enhancement of local species in the coexistence of tropical epiphytic orchid communities, by reducing competition through niche differentiation. |
| Persistent UFZ Identifier | https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=10818 |
| Raventós, J., Mujica, E., Wiegand, T., Bonet, A. (2011): Analyzing the spatial structure of Broughtonia cubensis (Orchidaceae) populations in the dry forests of Guanahacabibes, Cuba Biotropica 43 (2), 173 - 182 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2010.00684.x |
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