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Observations on flower visitors to Bertholletia excelsa H.B.K. and Couratari tenuicarpa A.C. Sm. (Lecythidaceae)
Abstract
Bees visiting flowers of Bertholletia excelsa. (Brazil Nut tree) and Couratari tenuicarpa were collected, their behavior described and the pollen found clinging to their dorsal thorax and stored on their legs was identified. Female bees of Xylocopa frontalis(Olivier) and males of Eulaema mocsaryi (Friese) are apparently effective pollinators of Couratari in igapo near Manaus. Female bees of Euplusia seabrai Moure in litt., Epicharis umbraculata (Fabricius), Epicharis rustica (Olivier) and Eulaema nigrita(Lepeletier), as well as male bees of Eulaema cingulata(Fabricius) and Eulaema nigrita are apparently effective pollinators of adult Brazil Nut trees in the Aleixo plantation near Manaus. Only large bees capable of uncurling the floral androecium can effectively pollinate Couratari or Bertholletia.Pollen analysis indicated that all bees captured carried pollen of the host tree in question and had been foraging on flowers of plant species common in secondary growth. Secondary growth near the Aleixo plantation supports a bee guild which appeared to effectively pollinate almost every flower on the Brazil Nut tree studied. Proximity to primary forest (and to those Euglossine bee species which occur only in primary forest) therefore does not appear to be necessary for pollination of Brazil Nut trees.In the Aleixo plantation chronic low fruit set is probably due to some factor other than pollination. Since natural occurrences of Brazil Nut trees to the north and south of Manaus are associated with a higher soil fertility, low production at the Aleixo plantation may be due to deficiencies of the soil.
... In addition, levels of seed set in the genus appear to be very low (1.48% for E. bogotensis [59]; 0.0036% for E. nana [65]), and this is also true for many members of the family. It has been suggested that the low level of seed set is due to soil nutrient poverty [72] and energetic limitation caused by investment in such energetically-demanding fruit [59]. However, despite the numerical and ecological importance of the species in igapó, phenology of E. tenuifolia has been the subject of only one focal study, conducted by Maia [31] (see also Maia and Peidade [56]). ...
... Levels of fruit set in Eschweilera are generally low (e.g., 0.0036% [65]), and this appears common in the family, having been observed for other genera within the Lecythidaceae, e.g., 0.4% for Betholletia [72,94] (Couroupita [95]; Lecythis [96,97]). Therefore, it is curious that levels reported in the current study were much higher (21/598: 3.5%), especially since soil nutrient poverty [59] and energetic limitation [59] have been advanced as explanations for low fruit set in species living in habitats that are far less challenging than the igapó inhabited by E. tenuifolia. ...
Research Highlights: Our study establishes the biennial nature of flowering intensity as a life-time energy-conserving strategy; we show unexpectedly high flower:fruit ratios despite extensive predation of buds and flowers by insect larvae; ‘selective’ bud abortion may be a key annual energy-saving strategy. Background and Objectives: We aim to explain the strongly biennial flowering pattern of Eschweilera tenuifolia, an ecologically key tree species of Amazon blackwater-flooded forest, inundated for up to nine months annually, and with large flowers (6 cm in width). Materials and Methods: We quantified the insect infestation of central Amazonian Eschweilera tenuifolia buds and flowers; we measured nectar production from flower opening onwards, examined flower duration and monitored pollen theft. We tested the role of infestation in bud abortion, nectar production and fruit production initiation. Results: Our study shows extensive predation of buds and flowers by insect larvae, as well as selective abortion of heavily infested buds, and limited loss to pollen thieves which fed largely on infertile fodder pollen. Nectar production peaked in the morning, with no nocturnal nectar production recorded. Sucrose levels were similar to congeneric values (mean 37.4%), and near-constant during production. Flower duration (4–5 days) was longer than reported for other congenerics. Conclusions: Insect infestation of buds can play an important role in regulating flower:fruit ratios, thus setting limits on individual total seed set. Individual Eschweilera tenuifolia appear to invest highly in reproduction every second year. Extended flower duration may be a strategy to enhance pollination success, but increases overall reproductive investment. Abortion of heavily infested buds may minimize allocation of energy to malformed flowers, which have a lower chance of attracting pollinators, thus functioning as a short-term energy-saving strategy. Additionally, biennial flowering in E. tenuifolia is likely to be an energy-conserving response in a highly physiologically-challenging environment. Thus, E. tenuifolia exhibits energy-conservation strategies at two divergent temporal scales.
... However, the effect of the vegetation matrix on the presence of pollinators and hence Brazil nut productivity remains unclear. For example, both Brazil nut harvesters and research scholars [7,21] have argued that seed production is positively influenced by natural forest cover which is the preferred habitat of the Brazil nut pollinator bees [41], as well as by the presence of other plant species that are visited by these bees [22,42]. The smoke produced by vegetation burning has been cited by harvesters as negatively affecting pollinator presence and Brazil nut seed production, in line with findings elsewhere [43]. ...
Understanding the factors that underlie the production of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), as well as regularly monitoring production levels, are key to allow sustainability assessments of NTFP extractive economies. Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa, Lecythidaceae) seed harvesting from natural forests is one of the cornerstone NTFP economies in Amazonia. In the Peruvian Amazon it is organized in a concession system. Drawing on seed production estimates of >135,000 individual Brazil nut trees from >400 concessions and ethno-ecological interviews with >80 concession holders, here we aimed to (i) assess the accuracy of seed production estimates by Brazil nut seed harvesters, and (ii) validate their traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) about the variables that influence Brazil nut production. We compared productivity estimates with actual field measurements carried out in the study area and found a positive correlation between them. Furthermore, we compared the relationships between seed production and a number of phenotypic, phytosanitary and environmental variables described in literature with those obtained for the seed production estimates and found high consistency between them, justifying the use of the dataset for validating TEK and innovative hypothesis testing. As expected, nearly all TEK on Brazil nut productivity was corroborated by our data. This is reassuring as Brazil nut concession holders, and NTFP harvesters at large, rely on their knowledge to guide the management of the trees upon which their extractive economies are based. Our findings suggest that productivity estimates of Brazil nut trees and possibly other NTFP-producing species could replace or complement actual measurements, which are very expensive and labour intensive, at least in areas where harvesters have a tradition of collecting NTFPs from the same trees over multiple years or decades. Productivity estimates might even be sourced from harvesters through registers on an annual basis, thus allowing a more cost-efficient and robust monitoring of productivity levels.
... Esse modo agressivo de forrageamento dos Apidae sociais, segundo GUIBU et al. (1988), é freqüentemente associado a produtividade das fontes, preferências específicas e o manuseio das peças florais que pode facilitar a coleta do pólen e\ou néctar. Por exemplo, Bertholletia excelsa e Couratari tenuicarpa são polinizadas por abelhas grandes (Epicharis, Euplusia, Eulaema, etc), que são capazes de desenrolar o androceu floral, e assim chegar ao pólen (NELSON et al. 1985). Plantas com anteras poricidas dificultam a coleta do pólen, obrigando a vários tipos de abelhas, a recorrerem a outras fontes de alimento ou, então, coletarem por "métodos ilegítimos" como a destruição das anteras (RENNER, 1983 Quanto as Apis é curioso constatar que em dois anos de estudo, consecutivos, Cecropia sp. ...
Foram analisados os pólen corbiculares de operárias de Apis mellifera durante o período de dois anos, no Município de Ji-Parana(RO). Constatou-se que dos 126 tipos polínicos coletados, apenas uma pequena parte (12,0%) foram intensamente explorados pelas africanizadas, destacando-se entre eles: Cecropia sp., Orbignya martiana, Poaceae tipo, Cosmos caudaíus, Cocos nucifera, Cynometra sp., Mimosa pudica, Cissus sp., etc. que tiveram seus pólen coletados em mais de dez meses. Observou-se que a coleta de pólen pelas Apis, na Amazônia, não está relacionada com as mudanças climáticas e sim com a época de floração das fontes. Fevereiro de 1989 foi o mês onde as operárias mais diversificaram, coletando 41 tipos de plantas. Os meses de março, novembro de 1988 e janeiro de 1990 foram os meses que apresentaram a menor diversificação num total de onze espécies de plantas coletadas pelas operárias.
Cerú, ceruzeiro, serú, seruzeiro, tauarí, churú, xurú, cachimbeira, curanáou tauri
Resumo A biodiversidade assegura a existência da vida humana no planeta. Os países signatários das convenções globais precisam formular estratégias para alcançar as metas definidas e essas estratégias são estabelecidas por meio de políticas públicas. O objetivo do artigo é descrever uma ação traçada a partir do debate em torno da sociobiodiversidade como antídoto à crise ambiental. O artigo apresenta um estudo de caso do projeto ArticulaFito na Terra Indígena Mãe Maria, no Pará, sobre a cadeia de valor da castanha-da-amazônia e o povo Gavião. A castanha está categorizada como ameaçada de extinção por sofrer declínio populacional e as aldeias indígenas também estão vulneráveis. O fortalecimento das cadeias de produtos e serviços gerados a partir dos recursos da sociobiodiversidade possibilita a integração da conservação e do uso sustentável dos ecossistemas valorizando o conhecimento tradicional. A inclusão produtiva das comunidades tradicionais agrega valor socioambiental a essas cadeias produtivas e promove a repartição de benefícios.
Fazendeiros, agricultores e agrônomos têm conhecimentos detalhados de como maximizar a produção e qualidade de seus cultivos agrícolas, especialmente no contexto de insumos externos como os fertilizantes e o manejo de pragas. Contudo, informações sobre polinização geralmente estão disponíveis apenas na literatura científica
internacional e quase sempre inacessíveis para os produtores ou demais interessados em desenvolver atividades agrícolas conservando a diversidade de abelhas no Brasil.
A polinização é o primeiro passo na reprodução das plantas com flores. Ela consiste na transferência do pólen das anteras (órgão reprodutor masculino da flor) para o estigma (órgão reprodutor feminino da flor) e, portanto, é essencial para o desenvolvimento das sementes e o vingamento dos frutos. Algumas espécies cultivadas produzem colheitas sem a intervenção de insetos ou outros animais, usando o vento para a transferência do pólen (ex. arroz, milho e outros cereais). Outras culturas agrícolas produzem frutos e partes vegetais que consumimos sem a necessidade de polinização (ex. banana ou mandioca). No entanto, a maioria das plantas depende em algum grau da transferência de pólen realizada por animais. Dentre as principais espécies cultivadas ao redor do globo que precisam de polinização animal, apenas algumas poucas são polinizadas por pássaros ou mamíferos, como no caso do Durião no sudeste da Ásia. A maioria das culturas agrícolas depende de insetos polinizadores.
A polinização feita por insetos pode ser disponibilizada na área agrícola como um insumo externo por meio da introdução de colônias da abelha melífera (abelha africanizada) ou outros polinizadores manejados durante o período de florescimento da cultura. De fato, o manejo da abelha melífera para a produção agrícola já está estabelecido para alguns sistemas agrícolas. O exemplo mais conhecido é o manejo de abelhas melíferas para a produção de amêndoas na Califórnia. No entanto, informações sobre como espécies polinizadoras que ocorrem naturalmente nos cultivos agrícolas, especialmente abelhas silvestres, contribuem para a produção total das culturas ainda são escassas, embora elas sejam polinizadores cruciais e possam ser mais importantes
que a abelha melífera em várias espécies cultivadas. A maioria das espécies de abelhas silvestres não vive em colônias, são portanto menos dominantes que a abelha melífera e a polinização dos cultivos aumenta quando muitas espécies (biodiversidade) compartilham a tarefa de polinizar as flores. Em todas as partes do mundo, a diversidade das abelhas silvestres tem sido associada às práticas de cultivo na grande paisagem agrícola. É, portanto, crucial conhecer as principais espécies polinizadoras de cada cultura para se poder promover e proteger essas espécies em nossos sistemas de produção ou na paisagem do entorno. Com o nosso guia de polinização agrícola para fazendeiros, agricultores, agrônomos, políticos e conservacionistas, nós buscamos disponibilizar o conhecimento atual sobre a polinização das principais espécies agrícolas cultivadas no Brasil. De uma forma mais abrangente, os objetivos são fornecer informações sobre o conhecimento científico da dependência de uma cultura na polinização por insetos e fornecer uma lista das espécies polinizadoras mais relevantes para cada cultura. Nos detalhes, nos mostramos os estados onde há cultivo de cada cultura no Brasil. Nós apresentamos os requerimentos de polinização, que definimos
como o sistema de acasalamento das plantas e os polinizadores visitando as flores. Nós também mostramos exemplos comuns do cultivo da cultura no Brasil. Os desenhos das flores mostram suas morfologias. As flores e os polinizadores coevoluíram, portanto a morfologia da flor é um indicador importante de quais visitantes florais podem potencialmente acessar os recursos de pólen e néctar e, mais importante ainda, quais
polinizadores apresentam a combinação de características adequadas para polinizarem as flores com sucesso. Além de fornecer uma lista de espécies polinizadoras para cada cultura, conforme reportada na literatura científica, nós apresentamos informações sobre os grupos de polinizadores nos campos agrícolas, fazendas, quintais e a paisagem rural em geral. A ideia desse guia de polinização agrícola foi desenvolvida na Universidade de Freiburg em colaboração com o Bayer Bee Care Center da Bayer Crop Science, na Alemanha. Alexandra-M. Klein e Christian Maus iniciaram o guia e discutiram a ideia com Breno M. Freitas do Departamento de Zootecnia da Universidade Federal do Ceará no Brasil, e posteriormente com Martin Urban da Syngenta na Basileia, Suíça, e Juliana
Jaramillo Salazar da Bayer Bee Care Center. Virginie Boreux compilou uma base de dados globais sobre polinização agrícola na Universidade de Freiburg. Felix Fornoff da
Universidade de Freiburg, e Isac G.A. Bomfim e Mikail O. Oliveira do Departamento de Zootecnia da Universidade Federal do Ceará verificaram as informações existentes e adicionaram informações de novas publicações do Brasil onde se fez necessário. Eles
trabalharam com Virginie Boreux no layout do guia e coletaram a maioria das fotos. A Universidade de Freiburg desenhou as flores com a ajuda de uma aluna de mestrado. Alexandra M. Klein e Breno M. Freitas escreveram o restante do texto e fizeram as devidas correções no guia até a sua aprovação final por todos os autores. Syngenta e Bayer Crop Science financiaram o trabalho de Virginie Boreux em obter informações
dessa obra, como também a tradução e impressão desse guia de polinização agrícola. Para tornar o guia acessível aos agricultores, mas também aos estudantes e à sociedade em geral, esse guia está permanentemente armazenado no DOI: 10.6094/UNIFR/151237 em inglês; e DOI: 10.6094/UNIFR/151200 em Português, e disponível nos sites https://www.nature.uni-freiburg.de/publications/Books, https://ppgzootecnia.ufc.br,
https://beecare.bayer.com/home e https://abelha.org.br/.
Com esse guia nós esperamos melhorar o conhecimento atual dos agricultores e a sociedade brasileira em geral sobre a polinização agrícola realizada por insetos no Brasil. Nós esperamos elevar a consciência da importância das abelhas, mostrar suas belezas e diversidade fascinante e contribuir para conservar e destacar a diversidade de polinizadores em sistemas agrícolas e nas paisagens.
Farmers, gardeners and agronomists have detailed knowledge on how to maximise high quality crop production, especially in the context of external inputs including fertilization and pest management. However, detailed information on pollination is mainly available in the international scientific literature and often not accessible for local farmers or any person interested in growing crops while conserving bee diversity in Brazil.
Pollination is the first step in the reproduction of flowering plants. It is the transfer of pollen from the anthers (male reproduction organ) to the stigma (female reproduction organ) of flowers and therefore essential to develop seeds and to set fruits. Some staple food crops produce yield without insects or other animals and use wind for pollen
transfer (e.g. rice, maize and other cereals). Other crops produce fruits or other plant organs we consume without pollination (e.g. banana or cassava). Nevertheless, the majority of crops depend to certain degrees on the transfer of pollen by animals. Only few of the major cultivated animal-pollinated crops around the globe are pollinated by
birds and/or mammals such as durian in South-East Asia. Most other crops rely on insect pollinators. Insect pollination can be provided by external inputs via the introduction of honeybee colonies or other managed pollinators during the crop blooming periods. Honeybee
management for crop production is today established for some crop systems. The most famous example is the management of honeybees for almond production in California. Information how the naturally occurring pollinator species, especially wild bee species, contribute to overall crop production is largely missing, although they are crucial
pollinators and can be more important than honeybees. The majority of wild bee species do not live in colonies, are therefore less dominant than honeybees and crop pollination increases when many species (biodiversity) share the pollination job. The diversity of wild bees is linked to the crop cultivation practices in the larger agricultural landscapes, in all places of the world. It is therefore crucial to know for each crop the main pollinator species to be able to promote and protect them in our farming systems or the surrounding landscape.
With our crop pollination guide for farmers, gardeners, agronomists, politicians and conservationists, we aim to transfer the current knowledge on crop pollination of the major crop species grown in Brazil. The overarching aims are to provide scientific knowledge of the dependency of a crop on insect pollination and to provide a list of
relevant pollinator species for each crop. In detail, we show for each crop the growing regions in Brazil. We provide the pollination requirements, which we define as the plantmating system and the pollinators visiting the flowers. We also show common examples
of the crops cultivated in Brazil. Our flower drawings show flower morphologies. Flowers and pollinators have co-evolved and therefore flower morphology is an important indicator for which pollinators can potentially access the nectar and pollen resources and most importantly which pollinators represent the fitting trait combination to successfully pollinate a flower. Besides providing a list of pollinator species for each crop listed in the scientific primary literature, we display information of pollinator groups in the second part of our crop pollination guide. This information provides the ecological knowledge to enhance the main pollinator groups on farmland, in farms, gardens and the wider landscape. The idea of this crop pollination guide was developed at the University of Freiburg in collaboration with the Bayer Bee Care Centre of Bayer Crop Science in Germany. Alexandra-M. Klein and Christian Maus initiated the guide and discussed the idea with
Breno M. Freitas from the Departamento de Zootecnia at the Federal University of Ceará in Brazil and later with Martin Urban from Syngenta in Basel, Switzerland and with Juliana Jaramillo Salazar from the Bayer Bee Care Center. Virginie Boreux compiled a global crop pollination database at the University of Freiburg. Felix Fornoff of the
University of Freiburg and Isac G. A. Bomfim and Mikail O. Oliveira from the Departamento de Zootecnia at the Federal University of Ceará checked the information and added information from additional publications from Brazil where necessary. They worked with Virginie Boreux on the layout and collected the photos. The University of
Freiburg drew the flowers with help of a MSc student. Alexandra M. Klein and Breno M. Freitas wrote the remaining text and corrected the guide until final approval by all authors. Syngenta and Bayer Crop Sciences financed Virginie Boreux to extract information for
our guide and financed the translation and print offs of this crop pollination guide. To make the guide accessible to farmers but also to students and the wider society, the English version is permanently stored at DOI:10.6094/UNIFR/151200 and the Portuguese version at DOI: 10.6094/UNIFR/151237. Pdfs are also available at the
websites: https://www.nature.uni-freiburg.de/publications/Books, https://ppgzootecnia.ufc.br, https://beecare.bayer.com/home and https://abelha.org.br/.
With this guide on insect pollinaton of crops in Brazil, we aim to increase the current knowledge of farmers and the wider society in Brazil. We hope to rise awareness of the importance of bees, show their beauty and fascinating diversity and to conserve and enhance pollinator diversity in crop-producing systems and landscapes.
Der Paranussbaum, Bertholletia excelsa, hat eine nicht zu unterschätzende wirtschaftliche Bedeutung. Regelmäßig in der Vorweihnachtszeit kommen große Mengen von Paranüssen auf den europäischen Markt, die in keiner Nussmischung fehlen dürfen. Diese Paranüsse – eigentlich sind es Samen – stammen aus Bolivien, Brasilien oder Peru und werden in kleinbäuerlicher Landwirtschaft produziert. Bis 2003 konnte man ungeschälte Paranüsse kaufen, infolge einer EU-Entscheidung sind sie vom Markt verschwunden. Heute gibt es in Europa nur noch geschälte Nüsse.
This study assessed biological conditions (survival, produtivity, regrowth) and structure of
populations of Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.) in the proximity to the deforested
roadside (Oriximiná, Pará) We studied 441 trees (Diameter at Breast Height – DBH > 10 cm),
and collected geographic coordinates, dendrometric data, record of reproductive and biological
status and evidence of disturbance and regrowth; 75% of the nut trees was dead. The population
structure of survivors Brazil nut tree is aged (DBH average, 159 ± 0.55 cm), with low presence of
young tree (DBH < 40 cm, 4.6%). Little over half of the surviving adult nut trees (DBH > 40 cm)
showed evidence of fruiting; with an area of crown significantly higher than the non-productive
trees. It is recommended the adoption of urgent measures for conservation and reforestation of the
population of Brazil nut trees in the study area in accordance with the current environmental law.
Leaf fall, leaf production, flower and fruit production, and floral biology of Gustavia superba (Kunth) Berg were studied for a year in the tropical moist forest of central Panama. Although leaves fall throughout the year, peak fall occurs in the first month of the wet season. Leaf production on any branch is possible throughout the year, but within the population studied two pronounced peaks were observed, one in the late wet-early dry season and the other after the first rains of the wet season. Flowering began about one month after the rains ceased and continued throughout the dry season into the first month of the following wet season. Fruits reached maturity at the end of the dry season and into the early wet season. The severity of the dry season of 1974-1975 may have altered the normal flowering pattern and reduced fruit production in this species. Observations revealed that the flowers are diurnal, without odor and nectar, and are visited by bees for their pollen. A limited number of crosses suggest that this species is self-incompatible.
Pollination observations were made for six Amazonian species of Lecythidaceae from five genera. Large bees were found to be the pollinators in five species and wasps in one species, Couroupita subsessilis Pilg. The species studied were allogamous, and flowers lasted only a single day. The diversity of androphore structure is discussed. The complex androphore structure is concluded to have evolved to protect the fertile stamens and to increase efficiency of pollination rather than as an adaptation to new pollinators.
Observations on the floral biology of seven species of New World Lecythidaceae, including the first report of bat pollination
for neotropical members of the family, are presented. The shift from actinomorphic flowers with many stamens to zygomorphic
flowers with fewer stamens and the concomitant change from pollen to nectar as the pollinator reward are discussed and related
to the respective pollinators. Several mechanisms which operate to reduce competition for pollinators between sympatric species
of the family are suggested.
Estudos Biológicos da Floração e da Frutificação da Castanha-do-Brasil (Bertholletia excelsa H.B.K.). EMBRAPA/CPATU
- A Moritz
Moritz, A. -1984. Estudos Biológicos da Floração e da Frutificação da Castanha-do-Brasil (Bertholletia excelsa H.B.K.). EMBRAPA/CPATU. Belém, PA. 78 pp.
Os índios pagam primeiro. E mais caro
- I Ferraz
Ferraz, I. -1982. Os índios pagam primeiro. E mais caro. Ciência Hoje, 1(3):51-53.
A depredação e conservação dos castanhais nativos: o caso de Marabá, PA. Paper presented at 19 Simpósio do Trópico Úmido
- P C Kitamura
- C H Müller
Kitamura, P.C. & Müller, C.H. -1984. A depredação e conservação dos castanhais
nativos: o caso de Marabá, PA. Paper presented at 19 Simpósio do Trópico Úmido, in Belém,
PA, November, 1984.
Castanha do Brasil: Resultado de Pesquisa
- C H Müller
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Müller, C.H.; Rodrigues, I.A.; Müller, A.A.; Müller, N.R.M. -1980. Castanha do Brasil:
Resultado de Pesquisa. EMBRAPA/CPATU Miscelãnea N9 2:1-25.