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Societal impact
Abstract
The giant rosette plants are endemic to the humid tropical Andes and harbour a rich fauna, especially of arthropods. In paramos near Bogotá, in some cases over 80 especies of greatly diverse orders were found in the cover of dead leaves around the trunk. These species remain there for a substantial time, and in some instances complete their entire development there. A further 10 such species were found on the leaf rosettes, and over 35 on the flowerheads, which exhibit a characteristic guild of species (of Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, etc.) which is largely constant within each plant ge- nus, but with marked differences between different genera (Espeletia, Espeletiopsis, Coes- peletia, Ruilopezia). The fitness of the Espeletïïnae in the observation areas was influenced inter al. by the phytophagous insects of the leaf rosette (Pseudococcidae, Aphidioidea, Curculioni- dae, Lepidoptera larvac etc.) by the activity of flying forms of the flowerhead fauna în the necessary cross pollination (Curculionidae: Phyllotrox spp., Staphylinidae: Polylobus spp., Bibionidae: Dilophus spp. and others) in the pollinization, by insect damage to flowers (Lepidoptera, Diptera etc., up to 5%), by frugivorous birds (Fringillidae spp. etc., up to 10% of the fruits) and in 2 paramos by Agouti sp. (Rodentia) cutting the trunks and eating the medulla. Origin and adaptations of the arthropod fauna are discussed.
References
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