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La comprensión de los mecanismos de polinización son de gran importancia para el desarrollo de planes de manejo y acciones de conservación de las especies de importancia económica. Con el objeto de conocer los mecanismos de polinización de palmas promisorias del género Oenocarpus (Arecaceae), se estudió la morfología, la biología floral, los visitantes, los polinizadores y éxito reproductivo de tres especies simpátricas en la Amazonía colombiana: O. bataua, O. balickii y O. minor. Durante el período 2010-2012 realizamos observaciones directas durante las fases de desarrollo de las inflorescencias en las tres especies. Se determinó la asociación de las palmas con sus visitantes florales a través de una red compleja, mientras que la especificidad o la preferencia de los insectos por cada palma individual se evaluó mediante el análisis similitud pareada, análisis de similitud (ANOSIM), un análisis de ordenación a partir del escalamiento multidimensional no métrico (NMSD). Las tres palmas florescen todo el año; sus inflorescencias contienen raquilas que cuelgan de un raquis corto, y presentan flores agrupadas en díadas o tríadas. Las inflorescencias son protandras, termogénicas; la antesis tiene lugar durante el día, pero la polinización es nocturna. Se registraron 79 especies de insectos, principalmente coleópteros, 33 de los cuales visitaron O. balickii, 63 a O. bataua y 33 a O. minor. Aunque compartían algunos visitantes, su abundancia en la fase pistilada, así como la carga de polen mostró que sólo unas pocas especies de Curculionidae y Nitidulidae son los polinizadores de las tres especies. Las diferencias en la estructura de la red entre las fases estaminadas y pistiladas, así como la diferencia en la abundancia encontrada con las pruebas de similitud ANOSIM y NMSD, sugieren una alta especificidad de polinizadores, lo que lleva a un aislamiento reproductivo entre las tres especies. Debido a que se encontró que todas las especies de coleópteros polinizadores desarrollan su ciclo de vida dentro de las inflorescencias de cada palma, se sugiere la presencia de un sistema especializado y de mutua dependencia entre los polinizadores y las especies de Oenocarpus. Esta especialización garantiza la disponibilidad de polinizadores durante todo el año.

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The understanding of pollination mechanisms is vital for developing management and conservation actions of economically important species. In order to understand the pollination mechanisms of the promising palms in the genus Oenocarpus (Arecaceae), we studied floral morphology and biology, of three sympatric species in the Colombian Amazon: O. bataua, O. balickii and O. minor. During the period 2010-2012 we made direct and continuous observations of inflorescences (visitors, pollinators, and reproductive success) of the three species in every development phase. We determined the association of the palms with their floral visitors through a complex or interaction network, whereas specificity or preference of the insects for each individual palm was assessed through paired similarity analysis, similarity analysis (ANOSIM), and ordering analysis based on nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMSD). The three species flowered throughout the year; their inflorescences have long rachillae that hang close to each other from a short rachis, and they bear flowers in dyads or triads. Inflorescences are protandrous, thermogenic; anthesis takes place during daytime but pollination is nocturnal. We recorded 79 species of insects, mainly beetles, 33 of which visited O. balickii, 63 visited O. bataua, and 33 visited O. minor. Although they shared some visitors, their abundance during the pistillate phase, as well as their pollen loads showed that only a few species of Curculionidae and Nitidulidae are the principal pollinators of the three studied species. Differences in network structure between staminate and pistillate phases, as well as difference in abundance found with the ANOSIM and NMSD similarity tests, suggest a high specificity of pollinators, leading to reproductive isolation among the three species. Because all pollinating beetles were found to develop their life cycles within the inflorescences, we hypothesize the occurrence of a specialized system of mutual dependence between each of this three Oenocarpus species and their pollinators. This specialization assures a year-round availability of the pollinators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processing effect and maturity stage on dietary fiber content of four traditionally consumed inflorescences (Chamaedorea alternans, Chamaedorea tepejilote, Chamaedorea sp and Astrocaryum mexicanum) were evaluated. Three groups were formed according to the mass and three treatments were applied: raw, roasted and boiled. Samples were dried and packed for dietary fiber determination. A randomly distributed factorial analysis 4x3x3 (four palms, three treatments, three groups) was used. Total dietary fiber content was not significantly different (p≤0.05) between groups. Soluble dietary fiber content was significantly different between treatments being the raw treatment the best one. It was observed that there were differences in total and insoluble dietary fiber contents between species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]