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Effect of habitat structure on reproduction and prey capture of a rare carnivorous plant, Pinguicula lutea

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Abstract

Habitat degradation is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide and the main contributor to the decline of many carnivorous plant species. For carnivorous plants in the southeastern United States, including many Pinguicula species (butterwort, Lentibulariaceae), degradation via altered fire regime has been implicated in their decline. Despite this decline, limited empirical research has been conducted examining the influence of habitat structural changes (through natural succession or human management) on reproduction and prey capture by carnivorous plants. The objectives of our study were to compare reproduction and prey capture for Pinguicula lutea (yellow butterwort) in habitats with different vegetation structures in the Florida Panhandle, where differences were largely due to management history. Pinguicula lutea is a self-compatible carnivorous plant that inhabits fire-dependent longleaf pine savannas of the southeastern United States and is threatened in the state of Florida. In 2014 and 2015, 13 sites were identified occupying three different habitat structures: maintained (intermittently mowed), grassy (dominated by Aristida stricta var. beyrichiana), and woody (encroachment by Hypericum and Ilex). Reproductive output was determined by assessing fruit set and ovule fertilization rate at each site. Additionally, prey availability and prey capture were assessed at each habitat site. In general, there were no differences in either measure of reproduction across habitat structure types. There were differences in prey abundance of Collembola, Diptera, and total arthropods both in terms of availability and capture. Total arthropod availability and prey capture were lowest in grassy sites compared to maintained habitat sites and woody habitat sites. Microclimatic conditions associated with each habitat structure and leaf morphology or physiology could explain the observed arthropod abundance and prey capture patterns. This study is the first ecological assessment of plant–insect interactions for Pinguicula species of the southeastern US and highlights the importance of habitat quality and management for this understudied group of carnivorous plants.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the following individuals and organizations that made this project possible: Jean Mengelkoch (Illinois Natural History Survey); Mary Ann Feist (University of Wisconsin-Madison); Jenna Annis (Eastern Illinois University); Michael R. Jenkins and David Morse (Florida Forest Service); Vivian Negron-Ortiz (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service); Faye Winters (U.S. Bureau of Land Management); Cheryl Peterson (Bok Tower Gardens); Jim Moyers (St. Joe Company); Wendy Jones (Tyndall Air Force Base); Caroline George (Tyndall Air Force Base/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service); Dylan Shoemaker, Barry Townsend, Sandra Chafin, Allix North, Lisa Duglecki, Max and Pat Prucell, and Dave and Joy Peterson (St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve); and Brittany Phillips (Apalachicola National Forest). In addition, thanks to the following citizen scientists: Melissa Primer, Bill and Marcia Booth, Patricia Stampe, and Robin Kennedy. This project was funded by a grant from Florida Forest Service and other sources of funding and/or in-kind contributions (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Bok Tower Gardens, Eastern Illinois University, University of Illinois, and Illinois Natural History Survey).

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Funding was provided by Florida Forest Service.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 505 South Goodwin, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Samantha Primer

  2. Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 1816 South Oak Street, Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    Brenda Molano-Flores, David N. Zaya & Charles Helm

  3. Biological Sciences Department, Eastern Illinois University, 600 Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, IL, 61920, USA

    Janice Coons

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  1. Samantha Primer
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Correspondence to Brenda Molano-Flores.

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Handling Editor: Stanislav Gorb.

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Primer, S., Molano-Flores, B., Zaya, D.N. et al. Effect of habitat structure on reproduction and prey capture of a rare carnivorous plant, Pinguicula lutea. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 12, 671–683 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-018-9632-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-018-9632-y

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