Effect of the presence of frugivorous insect larvae on seed germination of Psidium cattleianum (Myrtaceae)

• Grant number: 12/18959-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2012
• End date: October 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Wesley Rodrigues Silva
• Grantee: Veridiana Angeluzzi Jardim
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Frugivorous insects represent one of many facets of the complexity of insect-plant interactions. The different forms of interaction can be either mutual or non-mutual, and the plant performance basically depends on the balance between these opposites interactions. Frugivorous insects can spend part of their life cycle within the fruit, and once inside, can present different behaviors, such as consuming the pulp, as species of Diptera (Tephritidae), and/or prey on seeds, as species of Coleoptera (Bruchidae). Recent studies show that the presence of insects inside fruits can benefit the plant, increasing seed germination by scarification of the seeds (generated by the movement of the larvae in the pulp). Positive effects of animal-plant interaction have also been studied for vertebrates, which, besides having the ability to increase the dispersion area, help in germination after the seed passage through the digestive tract (scarification). Based on the interaction of frugivorous insects with the fruits of Psidium cattleianum, and considering the different types of behaviors that these larvae can adopt, the goal of this study is to verify if infested fruit seeds germinate faster than seeds of fruits that are not infested and if larval behavior (consuming pulp or preying seeds) have distinct effects on seed germination. It will also be investigating the role of the level of infestation, passage through the digestive tract of vertebrates, and state of the pulp on seed germination of P. cattleianum.(AU)