title: Different pollinator assemblages ensure reproductive success of Cleisostoma linearilobatum (Orchidaceae) in fragmented holy hill forest and traditional tea garden.
abstract: Orchids are generally recognized to have specialist pollination systems and low fruit set is often thought to be characteristic of the family. In this study, we investigated the reproductive ecology of Cleisostoma linearilobatum, an epiphytic tropical orchid, in a holy hill forest fragment and a traditional tea garden in SW China using comparable methods. C. linearilobatum is self-compatible and dependent on insects for pollination. Fruit production in natural conditions was both pollinator- and resource-limited. However, the natural fruit set remained stable over multiple years at both sites. Pollination observations showed that C. linearilobatum has a generalized pollination system and seven insect species were observed as legitimate pollinators. Although the visit frequencies of different pollinators were different in the two sites, the pollinator assemblages ensured reproductive success of C. linearilobatum in both study sites over multiple years. The results partly explain why C. linearilobatum is so successful in the area, and also suggest that holy hill forest fragments and traditional tea gardens in Xishuangbanna are important in preserving orchids, especially those with generalist pollination.
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Jessie Yc
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China.
authors.forename: JiangYun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D028241:Camellia sinensis / Q000502:physiology; D002681:China; D035264:Flowers / Q000502:physiology; D065928:Forests; D000072506:Gardens; D006927:Hymenoptera / Q000502:physiology*; D029595:Orchidaceae / Q000502:physiology*; D054817:Pollination