Algae and prey associated with traps of the Australian carnivorous plant Utricularia volubilis (Lentibulariaceae : Utricularia subgenus Polypompholyx) in natural habitat and in cultivation
Bartosz J. Płachno A , Konrad Wołowski B , Andreas Fleischmann C , Allen Lowrie D and Magdalena Łukaszek A B E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Plant Cytology and Embryology, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, 9 Gronostajowa Street, 30-387 Kraków, Poland.
B Department of Phycology, Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, 46 Lubicz Street, 31-512 Kraków, Poland.
C Department of Biology, Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich, Menzinger Strasse 67, 80638 Munich, Germany.
D 6 Glenn Place, Duncraig, WA 6023, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: m.lukaszek@botany.pl
Australian Journal of Botany 62(6) 528-536 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT14176
Submitted: 30 July 2014 Accepted: 22 October 2014 Published: 23 December 2014
Abstract
The carnivorous plant genus Utricularia comprises three monophyletic subgenera, Polypompholyx, Bivalvaria, and Utricularia; however, all Utricularia species produce sophisticated suction traps. Most studies on the interactions between this genus and algae were performed on the derived aquatic bladderworts from Utricularia subgenus Utricularia, section Utricularia, thus our knowledge about phytotelmata in bladderworts is still limited. The main aim of our study was to examine the composition of algae and prey in phytotelmata of U. volubilis R.Br., the Australian species from subgenus Polypompholyx, that has different construction of the trap door and trigger mechanism than species studied so far within the context of trapped organisms. We examined the contents of traps collected at a natural site in Western Australia, and from cultivated material grown in a botanical garden. The traps from the natural site in Australia contained predominantly diatoms, mainly of the genus Frustulia. Young traps from the botanical garden contained mainly diatoms, xanthophytes and green algae, while in the older traps, cyanobacteria prevailed. In general these observations were in agreement with the data obtained for aquatic bladderworts from section Utricularia, thus suggesting that the type of trigger mechanism has a minor influence on the composition of the trapped algae and prey.
Additional keywords: aquatic carnivorous plants, bladderworts, Phytotelmata, section Pleiochasia.
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