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Phylogenetic relationships in Opuntia (Cactaceae, Opuntioideae) from southern South America
(Springer Wien, 2015-04)
The patterns of relationships between species of Opuntia from southern South America are scarcely known in spite of the importance of this region as a diversification center for the Cactaceae. This paper contributes to the ...
The importance of pollinator generalization and abundance for the reproductive success of a generalist plant
(Public Library Science, 2013-10-07)
Previous studies have examined separately how pollinator generalization and abundance influence plant reproductive success, but none so far has evaluated simultaneously the relative importance of these pollinator attributes. Here we evaluated the extent to which pollinator generalization and abundance influence plant reproductive success per visit and at the population level on a generalist plant, Opuntia sulphurea (Cactaceae). We used field experiments and path analysis to evaluate whether the per-visit effect is determined by the pollinator?s degree of generalization, and whether the population level effect (pollinator impact) is determined by the pollinator?s degree of generalization and abundance. Based on the models we tested, we concluded that the per-visit effect of a pollinator on plant reproduction was not determined by the pollinators? degree of generalization, while the population-level impact of a pollinator on plant reproduction was mainly determined by the pollinators? degree of generalization. Thus, generalist pollinators have the greatest species impact on pollination and reproductive success of O. sulphurea. According to our analysis this greatest impact of generalist pollinators may be partly explained by pollinator abundance. However, as abundance does not suffice as an explanation of pollinator impact, we suggest that vagility, need for resource consumption, and energetic efficiency of generalist pollinators may also contribute to determine a pollinator?s impact on plant reproduction....
No defensive role of ants throughout a broad latitudinal and elevational range of a cactus
(Wiley, 2015-05)
Defensive mutualisms mediated by extrafloral nectaries are particularly variable, their net results may change with seasons, communities and environmental contexts. Particularly, an environmental factor that can promote ...
Biodiversity of cactophilic microorganisms in western Argentina: community structure and species composition in the necroses of two sympatric cactus hosts
(Elsevier, 2015-02)
The cactus-yeast-Drosophila system is a model system in evolutionary biology, and the participating saprotrophic microorganisms represent one of the most thoroughly studied microbial communities. However, much of the ...
Differences in tolerance to host cactus alkaloids in Drosophila koepferae and D. buzzatii
(Public Library of Science, 2014-02)
The evolution of cactophily in the genus Drosophila was a major cological transition involving over a hundred species in the Americas that acquired the capacity to cope with a variety of toxic metabolites evolved as feeding ...
Ecology and nesting biology of the wood-boring bee Trichothurgus laticeps (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in a Monte desert reserve in mid-western Argentina
(Springer, 2017-02)
Studying bee nests can enlighten our understanding of feeding specialization and phylogenetic relationships of bees. We studied the nesting and feeding habits of Trichothurgus laticeps in the Monte desert ecosystem. Our ...
Mating success depends on rearing substrate in cactophilic Drosophila
(Springer, 2012-05)
Drosophila buzzatii and D. koepferae coexist in the arid lands of southern South America and exploit different types of cactus as breeding hosts. The former prefers to lay eggs on the rotting pads of prickly pears (genus ...
Host Plant Adaptation in Cactophilic Species of the Drosophila buzzatii Cluster: Fitness and Transcriptomics
(Oxford Univ Press Inc, 2018-08)
Host plant shifts in herbivorous insects often involve facing new environments that may speed up the evolution of oviposition behavior, performance-related traits, morphology, and, incidentally, reproductive isolation. In ...
Revisión de las cactáceas argentinas
(Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, 1957)