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Plant–pollinator interactions in tropical monsoon forests in Southeast Asia¹

² Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Nihonmatsu-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan ³ Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, 46 Yoshida-Shimoadachi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan ⁴ Faculty of Forestry, National University of Laos, P.O. Box 5653, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

ABSTRACT

Forests with different flora and vegetation types harbor different assemblages of flower visitors, and plant–pollinator interactions vary among forests. In monsoon-dominated East and Southeast Asia, there is a characteristic gradient in climate along latitude, creating a broad spectrum of forest types with potentially diverse pollinator communities. To detect a geographical pattern of plant–pollinator interactions, we investigated flowering phenology and pollinator assemblages in the least-studied forest type, i.e., tropical monsoon forest, in the Vientiane plain in Laos. Throughout the 5-year study, we observed 171 plant species blooming and detected flower visitors on 145 species. Flowering occurred throughout the year, although the number of flowering plant species peaked at the end of dry season. The dominant canopy trees, including Dipterocarpaceae, bloomed annually, in contrast to the supra-annual general flowering that occurs in Southeast Asian tropical rain forests. Among the 134 native plant species, 68 were pollinated by hymenopterans and others by lepidopterans, beetles, flies, or diverse insects. Among the observed bees, Xylocopa, megachilids, and honeybees mainly contributed to the pollination of canopy trees, whereas long-tongued Amegilla bees pollinated diverse perennials with long corolla tubes. This is the first community-level study of plant–pollinator interactions in an Asian tropical monsoon forest ecosystem.

Key Words: Amegilla • honeybee • Laos • plant–pollinator interaction • pollination • tropical monsoon forest

Received for publication 28 March 2008. Accepted for publication 10 July 2008.

FOOTNOTES

¹ The authors thank S. Saignaleuth, S. Gnophanxay, B. Chanthavong, H. Chanthavong, K. Phengchanthamaly, K. Phomphoumyand, and other staff of National University of Laos for their assistance and permission to study in Laos, and Y. Masuhara and A. Mushiake for help in Vientiane. This study was supported by the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (nos. 15370012, 18207002, and 17255005) and by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (no. 4-2).

⁵ Author for correspondence (e-mail: kato{at}zoo.zool.kyoto-u.ac.jp)