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Moths as nocturnal pollinators in the tropics
Barták, Michal ; Tropek, Robert (advisor) ; Sedláček, Ondřej (referee)
in English In this thesis, I reviewed the available knowledge on the role of moths in the pollination of flowering plants in tropical ecosystems. Moths appeared as relatively frequent visitors of flowers with moth-attracting adaptations. Moths were proved to be essential pollinators of some specialized plant species. An obligatory mutualism with micromoths was found in more than 550 highly specialized plant species. Macromoths appeared as effective pollinators of numerous tropical shrubs, trees, and herbs from numerous plant families. Moths were the only recorded visitors and/or pollinators in several cases. In communities, plant species with moth pollination syndromes were relatively uncommon, and moths were generally infrequent visitors of their flowers, which could also be affected by abiotic factors. The proportion of actually moth-pollinated plant species in communities was even slightly lower than the proportion of plants with moth pollination syndromes in other areas. Some moths (e.g., hawkmoths) can thieve nectar from virtually any shorter-spurred/tubed flowers with their long proboscis. Other moths were reported as nectar thieves in some too accessible flowers. However, moths were reported to be rare nectar thieves and prefer visiting the flowers they also pollinate. This thesis should...
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