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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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Palaeocology of plant-arthropod associations from the Lower Miocene of the Most Basin in northern Bohemia (Czech Republic)
Knor, Stanislav
Terrestrial plants and insects account for the majority of the Earth's biodiversity today, and almost half of all insect species are herbivores. Thus, insects and plants share ancient associations date back for more than 400 million years. However, investigation of their interactions stands largely at the beginning in Western Europe. Nearly 4300 plant remains showing various kinds of feeding damages are available for the present study. These trace fossils are classified as so-called functional feeding-groups supply an outstanding example of the complexity, the structure and the changes of terrestrial ecosystems, are not well known during this interval. In Europe, the Neogene is characterized by palaeogeographic re- organization due to the collision of the African with the Eurasian plates. The Neogene plant record in Europe is rich and diverse offering a profound large-scale understanding of the floristic and vegetational development. A database of fossil traces from the Most Basin was compiled and analyzed by various statistical methods in terms of the diversity and intensity of palaeo-herbivory. The primary objective is to present results on the development of insect herbivory through the section of the Bílina Mine in North Bohemia, with the aim of understanding principal factors that caused the...
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Palaeocology of plant-arthropod associations from the Lower Miocene of the Most Basin in northern Bohemia (Czech Republic)
Knor, Stanislav
Terrestrial plants and insects account for the majority of the Earth's biodiversity today, and almost half of all insect species are herbivores. Thus, insects and plants share ancient associations date back for more than 400 million years. However, investigation of their interactions stands largely at the beginning in Western Europe. Nearly 4300 plant remains showing various kinds of feeding damages are available for the present study. These trace fossils are classified as so-called functional feeding-groups supply an outstanding example of the complexity, the structure and the changes of terrestrial ecosystems, are not well known during this interval. In Europe, the Neogene is characterized by palaeogeographic re- organization due to the collision of the African with the Eurasian plates. The Neogene plant record in Europe is rich and diverse offering a profound large-scale understanding of the floristic and vegetational development. A database of fossil traces from the Most Basin was compiled and analyzed by various statistical methods in terms of the diversity and intensity of palaeo-herbivory. The primary objective is to present results on the development of insect herbivory through the section of the Bílina Mine in North Bohemia, with the aim of understanding principal factors that caused the...
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Palaeocology of plant-arthropod associations from the Lower Miocene of the Most Basin in northern Bohemia (Czech Republic)
Knor, Stanislav ; Prokop, Jakub (advisor) ; Teodoridis, Vasilis (referee)
Terrestrial plants and insects account for the majority of the Earth's biodiversity today, and almost half of all insect species are herbivores. Thus, insects and plants share ancient associations date back for more than 400 million years. However, investigation of their interactions stands largely at the beginning in Western Europe. Nearly 4300 plant remains showing various kinds of feeding damages are available for the present study. These trace fossils are classified as so-called functional feeding-groups supply an outstanding example of the complexity, the structure and the changes of terrestrial ecosystems, are not well known during this interval. In Europe, the Neogene is characterized by palaeogeographic re- organization due to the collision of the African with the Eurasian plates. The Neogene plant record in Europe is rich and diverse offering a profound large-scale understanding of the floristic and vegetational development. A database of fossil traces from the Most Basin was compiled and analyzed by various statistical methods in terms of the diversity and intensity of palaeo-herbivory. The primary objective is to present results on the development of insect herbivory through the section of the Bílina Mine in North Bohemia, with the aim of understanding principal factors that caused the...
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