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Prey composition of the pitcher plant Nepenthes madagascariensis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2010

Katja Rembold ,
Eberhard Fischer ,
Markus A. Wetzel  and
Wilhelm Barthlott
Katja Rembold*
Affiliation:
Nees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants, University of Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 170, 53115 Bonn, Germany Institute for Integrated Natural Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Universitätsstr. 1, 56070 Koblenz, Germany
Eberhard Fischer
Affiliation:
Institute for Integrated Natural Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Universitätsstr. 1, 56070 Koblenz, Germany
Markus A. Wetzel
Affiliation:
Institute for Integrated Natural Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Universitätsstr. 1, 56070 Koblenz, Germany
Wilhelm Barthlott
Affiliation:
Nees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants, University of Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 170, 53115 Bonn, Germany
*
1Corresponding author. E-mail: rembold@uni-koblenz.de
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Abstract:

Nepenthes madagascariensis is a carnivorous plant which captures its prey in pitcher-like leaves. It is endemic to Madagascar where it occurs along the eastern coast. Altogether 94.3% of its prey animals belong to three taxa: Formicidae (80.2%), Diptera (9.7%) and Coleoptera (4.4%). The prey compositions of the dimorphic lower and upper pitcher types differ significantly, especially in the markedly higher proportion of ants in lower pitchers and the higher number of flying insects in upper pitchers. A comparison concerning the trap frequency of taxa with literature data from Asian Nepenthes species showed that the upper pitchers of N. madagascariensis contained much higher proportions of Coleoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera; these differences may partly be due to seasonal reasons. No significant correlation could be established between the numbers of prey items with pitcher size. This paper is the first characterization of the prey composition of the little known N. madagascariensis.

Keywords

carnivorous plantsFormicidaeMadagascarNepenthespitcher plants
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , July 2010 , pp. 365 - 372
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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