Is the distribution of Liparia determined by disturbance or mutualism?

Von Hase, Fabian G

Is the distribution of Liparia determined by disturbance or mutualism?

Bachelor Thesis

2010

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Biological Sciences

Faculty

Faculty of Science

Abstract

I investigated whether the locally endemic Liparia parva was influenced in its distribution by the distribution of its principal pollinator Acomys subspinosus or by rocks acting as buffers against disturbance by fires. Sampling was carried out at Redhill on the Cape Peninsula (South Africa) during the winter of 2010 by trapping rodents with Sherman live and PVC traps, performing vegetation analyses and analyses of its relationship with rocks. My results show no link between Acomys presence and rocks, Acomys and Liparia co-occurrence and flower visitations as a function of distance to rock; however the absence of rocks was associated with the absence of Liparia and an increase in rocks (of up to 1 m height) was associated with an increase in Liparia abundance. This suggests that the distribution of Liparia is not influenced by Acomys and that Liparia is restricted to areas with rocks. I therefore concluded that the distribution of L. parva was determined not by its mutualism, but by rocks as a buffer against disturbance.

Keywords

Botany

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