Search

Bromeliads interact with thousands of plants, animals and microorganisms. Some species are considered keystone species for providing shelter and protection to many species from vertebrates to microbes. Aechmea distichantha is a tank bromeliad distributed in the mid-latitudes of South America, known to interact with a wide variety of animal species. Studies aiming to provide inventories of the whole fauna associated are needed. An exhaustive academic review of interactions of this plant species with fauna was carried out including scientific articles, books, book chapters, theses, and reports published in different languages, where interactions between A. distichantha and an animal species were reported. These interactions were classified depending on the use that animals made of the plant and on the part of the plant involved. Since 1960, 347 animal morphospecies, involved in 495 interactions with A. distichantha have been documented. The plant was principally used as habitat or shelter, secondly used for food supply (herbivores, detritivores and predators), and finally for nesting. Morphospecies were mainly associated with the foliage and the phytotelmata, but also with the inflorescence, the inter-ramet space and the stolon. Invertebrates: Arachnids, mainly took refuge or shelter in the plant, and also found their preys. Insects, the most important class, took refuge on or inhabited in the plant and to a lesser extent used the plant for food supply. Vertebrates: amphibians, tortoises and reptiles exclusively used the plant for shelter, while birds and mammals mainly established feeding links. This is the first proposal tending to collect the whole set of animals interacting with this species. Aechmea distichantha is a keystone species that establish diverse, numerous direct and empirically detected interactions with fauna, and plays an important role in providing ecosystem services to humans.

Las epífitas aportan una gran diversidad específica y brindan numerosos servicios ecosistémicos en los bosques. En el Chaco Húmedo, los estudios sobre epífitas son muy escasos, por lo cual se realizó una descripción de la comunidad de epífitas vasculares de cuatro especies arbóreas deciduas representativas de un quebrachal de la Cuña Boscosa Santafesina. Dos especies pertenecen al estrato superior (Schinopsis balansae y Sideroxylon obtusifolium) y dos al inferior (Prosopis spp. y Acacia praecox). En invierno se seleccionaron al azar ocho individuos de cada especie y cada uno fue dividido en cuatro zonas (Zona I-II: tronco principal; Zona III: bases de las ramas; Zona IV: parte media de las ramas; Zona V: ramas más finas). En cada zona se contaron e identificaron a nivel de especie todas las epífitas vasculares. En la Zona V se diferenciaron ramas vivas y secas. Los datos se analizaron estadísticamente con modelos lineales generalizados mixtos y análisis multivariados. Se registraron 14 especies (nueve holoepífitas, dos facultativas y tres accidentales) de cuatro familias (Bromeliaceae, Cactaceae, Polypodiaceae y Anacardiaceae). La familia Bromeliaceae fue la más rica, con siete especies del género Tillandsia y Aechmea distichantha. La especie más abundante fue Tillandsia recurvata. Prosopis spp. tuvo la mayor abundancia de epífitas y S. obtusifolium la mayor riqueza. La Zona V tuvo mayor abundancia y riqueza de epífitas en promedio que las otras zonas. Se observaron diferencias cuantitativas entre forófitos en la composición de especies: A. distichantha y T. loliacea estuvieron asociadas positivamente con S. obtusifolium. Prosopis spp. tuvo mayor abundancia y riqueza de epífitas en ramas secas, y los forófitos del estrato superior, en ramas vivas. Las diferencias en abundancia, riqueza, composición específica y distribución vertical de epifitas entre forófitos podrían atribuirse a sus características morfológicas y a la variedad de microhábitats en el tronco y las ramas. In numerous forests, the vascular epiphytes contribute substantially to species diversity. Studies about vascular epiphytes in the Wet Chaco region are very scarce. We carried out a description of the epiphyte community in four deciduous tree species, representative of a quebrachal of the Cuña Boscosa Santafesina: two of them from the upper stratum (Schinopsis balansae and Sideroxylon obtusifolium) and two from the lower one (Acacia praecox and Prosopis spp.). Eight individuals of each tree species were selected, and each individual was divided in four zones (Zone I-II: main trunk; Zone III: basal branches; Zone IV: middle branches; Zone V: thinnest branches). For each zone, all the vascular epiphytes were counted and identified at species level. In Zone V, living and dead branches were differentiated. Data were analyzed with general linear mixed models and multivariate analysis. Fourteen species of vascular epiphytes were recorded (nine holoepiphytes, two facultative and three accidental epiphytic species) of four families (Bromeliaceae, Cactaceae, Polypodiaceae and Anacardiaceae). The richest family was Bromeliaceae, with seven species of the genus Tillandsia and Aechmea distichantha. The most abundant species was Tillandsia recurvata. Prosopis spp. had the highest abundance of epiphytes and S. obtusifolium the highest richness. Zone V had the highest average abundance and richness of vascular epiphytes. There were quantitative differences in species composition between phorophytes: A. distichantha and T. loliacea were positively associated with S. obtusifolium. Prosopis spp. had the highest abundance and richness in dead branches and the phorophytes of the upper stratum in the living ones. The differences in abundance, richness, specific composition and vertical distribution of vascular epiphytes between phorophytes could be attributed to their morphological characteristics and the microhabitats conditions in the trunk and branches.