Flowering phenology of <em>Catopsis compacta</em> (Bromeliaceae), a dioecious epiphyte in an oak forest release_kliozo3u3ndonnwctympgrdvfm

Abstract

&lt;strong&gt;Background:&lt;/strong&gt; Knowledge of the flowering phenology of species with an epiphytic habit and a dioecious sexual system is scarce.&lt;strong&gt;Questions:&lt;/strong&gt; We studied the flowering phenology of a population of the dioecious epiphytic bromeliad, &lt;em&gt;Catopsis&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;compacta&lt;/em&gt;, in an oak forest in Oaxaca, Mexico, to answer the following questions: 1) what type of flowering period is exhibited by this population of &lt;em&gt;C. compacta&lt;/em&gt;? 2) what is the degree of synchrony between the male and female flowering periods? and 3) what is the flowering synchrony index of the population?&lt;strong&gt;Methods:&lt;/strong&gt; In February 2006, in a 20 m × 20 m plot, we marked and measured 151 individuals of &lt;em&gt;C. compacta&lt;/em&gt; ≥ 10 cm in height (minimum reproductive size). We recorded the number of flowers and fruits present in each individual every month for one year.&lt;strong&gt;Results:&lt;/strong&gt; Our results showed that the flowering period in both sexes lasted for three months (May–July). Only 23 marked individuals flowered (15.23 %): of these 12 (52.17 %) were female and 11 (47.83 %) were male. The index of synchrony between females and males was 0.958 ± 0.013 and the flowering synchrony index of the population was 0.833 ± 0.189.&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/strong&gt; The high flowering synchrony between the sexes, together with a flowering season that coincided with the period of highest rainfall when the number of arthropods (potential pollinators) is the highest, could favor breeding and, therefore, reproductive success.
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