REPRODUCTIVE ECOLOGY OF DUBAUTIA MENZIESII (THE HALEAKALĀ KŪPAOA) AND ITS INTERACTION WITH POLLINATORS IN HALEAKALĀ

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dc.contributor.advisorDrake, Donald
dc.contributor.authorGuisado Chavez, Juan Francisco
dc.contributor.departmentBotany
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-02T23:43:33Z
dc.date.available2024-07-02T23:43:33Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.degreeM.S.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10125/108456
dc.subjectBotany
dc.subjectEcology
dc.subjectConservation biology
dc.titleREPRODUCTIVE ECOLOGY OF DUBAUTIA MENZIESII (THE HALEAKALĀ KŪPAOA) AND ITS INTERACTION WITH POLLINATORS IN HALEAKALĀ
dc.typeThesis
dcterms.abstractIslands harbor a significant part of global biodiversity owing to their high level of species endemism, and they are also highly vulnerable to global change threats. Understanding plant reproduction is vital to conserve and restore island plants, ecosystems, and ensure stable population dynamics. Dubautia menziesii (Asteraceae) – The Haleakalā kūpaoa - is a common shrub endemic to the alpine and subalpine ecosystem of Haleakalā volcano on Maui. The purpose of this study is to: (i) characterize the breeding system of D. menziesii, (ii) identify its main pollinators, (iii) determine how plant isolation affects seed set and seed parasitism and (iv) estimate the abundance of D. menziesii and its flower resources in the habitat. For the breeding system, hand pollination treatments were performed in the field and seed set was analyzed. To identify pollinators, flower-visiting insects were observed on flowers in the field. To asses the role of isolation, seed set and parasitism were determined for individuals at varying distances from the nearest flowering neighbor. To estimate species abundance, the line-intercept method was used, and sampling plots were established. Dubautia menziesii is self-incompatible and requires outcrossing to set seeds (67% seed set for outcrossed flowers vs. 3% for manually self-pollinated flowers and bagged, unmanipulated flowers). The most frequent flower visitors were endemic Hylaeus bees (44%), and non-native honeybees (34%), followed by seed bugs Nysius spp. (15.9%). Isolation had no significant effect on parasitism rate at 2 sites (r=0.17, p=0.25; r=-0.06 p=0,71; respectively) nor for seed set (r=-0.28, p=0.055; r=- 0.27, p=0.1; respectively), probably due to visits by non-native honeybees, which forage over greater distances than Hylaeus. The high density of D. menziesii at high elevations on Haleakalā suggest that it plays an important role in maintaining insect populations in these communities.
dcterms.extent33 pages
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.publisherUniversity of Hawai'i at Manoa
dcterms.rightsAll UHM dissertations and theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.
dcterms.typeText
local.identifier.alturihttp://dissertations.umi.com/hawii:12104

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