Skip to main content
WCS
Menu
Library
Library Catalog
eJournals & eBooks
WCS Research
Archives
Research Use
Finding Aids
Digital Collections
WCS History
WCS Research
Research Publications
Science Data
Services for WCS Researchers
Archives Shop
Bronx Zoo
Department of Tropical Research
Browse By Product
About Us
FAQs
Intern or Volunteer
Staff
Donate
Search WCS.org
Search
search
Popular Search Terms
WCS History
Library and Archives
Library and Archives Menu
Library
Archives
WCS Research
Archives Shop
About Us
Donate
en
fr
Title
Ecological Observations on Heteropsis Spp. (Araceae) in Southern Venezuela
Author(s)
Knab-Vispo C., Hoffman B., Moermond T., Vispo C.
Published
2003
Publisher
Economic Botany
Abstract
This article contributes a brief review of the ethnobotany and ontogeny of Heteropsis spp. (Araceae), reports the distribution and density of Heteropsis spp. in a tropical lowland rainforest in southern Venezuela, and explores the environmental variables that correlate best with the observed Heteropsis densities. Heteropsis occurred on 26% of the 4091 trees (=10 cm DBH) inventoried in 67 plots (of 0.1 hectare, each). Mean Heteropsis colonization densities differed significantly between 11 local forest types and ranged from 0% (in seasonally deeply flooded forest and in semideciduous hill forest) to 74% (in sporadically flooded forest near small streams). Across forest types, Heteropsis occurred on a significantly greater number of trees between 20 and 50 cm DBH than expected for an even distribution over all size classes. Of the 90 most common potential host species in the plots, the giant herb Phenakospermum guyannense (L. C. Rich.) Endl. was the only one consistently and significantly avoided by Heteropsis, and no host species was significantly preferred across all forest types. Heteropsis densities were positively correlated with the depth of the fine root mat and the diversity of big lianas. They were negatively correlated with the concentration of exchangeable potassium, flooding depth, and the density of small lianas. We conclude that Heteropsis shows clear habitat preferences that reflect site differences in soil fertility, flooding regime and forest structure and could not be explained by the distribution of preferred or avoided host tree sizes or species.
Keywords
Araceae; Phenakospermum guyanense
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the
WCS Library
to request.
Back
PUB12484