Photosynthetic costs and benefits of the carnivorous syndrome in the species Philcoxia minensis P. Taylor & V. C. Souza (Plantaginaceae)

• Grant number: 12/08632-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: July 01, 2012
• End date: February 28, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Rafael Silva Oliveira
• Grantee: Caio Guilherme Pereira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The studies with carnivorous plants began more than a century ago and still today it is unknown the mechanisms that determine the evolution and geographical distribution of these singularities. The cost-benefit models are, accordingly, acting as guidelines to various studies in recent decades and seem to be able to clarify many obscure points about the ecology of these plants. The genus Philcoxia, endemic to campos rupestres - environments associated with rocky outcrops and white sand formations, fireprone and nutrient-poor - have characteristics that eventually led to several questions regarding the physiology and evolution of these plants. Our research group recently demonstrated that the species of this genus are carnivorous, but we do not yet know the role that this syndrome plays in the energy balance of these plants. The present study aims to analyze the costs and benefits of carnivory in Philcoxia minensis in Givnish's theoretical context for the evolution of carnivory. To this end, we pretend to analyze the energy balance of these plants - through photosynthesis and respiration measurements - before and after the capture and absorption of prey. In general, we also hope to find out the position of some carnivorous plants in the worldwide leaf economics spectrum, analyzing how these plants behave in response to the various trade-offs imposed by restrictive environments where they grow.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

PEREIRA, Caio Guilherme. Carnivory and its ecological consequences in Philcoxia minensis V. C. Souza & Giulietti (Plantaginaceae). 2013. Master's Dissertation - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Biologia Campinas, SP.