Morphological Variation of Allagoptera Arenaria (Gomes) Kuntze, 1891
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Brazilian Journal of Biological Sciences, 2019, Vol. 6, No. 14, p. 515-520. ISSN 2358-2731 https://doi.org/10.21472/bjbs.061404 Morphological variation of Allagoptera arenaria (Gomes) Kuntze, 1891 (Arecaceae) in continental and insular environment Ana Paula Jejesky de Oliveira* and Amanda Toledo Lourenço Ecology and Ecosystems Postgraduate Program. Vila Velha University. Vila Velha-ES, Brazil (CEP 29102-920). *Email: [email protected]. Abstract. Various evolutionary and ecological aspects in isolated environments, such as islands, associated with speciation events, Received play a role in biological diversification. In this sense, the Octuber 30, 2019 morphological characteristics of Allagoptera arenaria (Gomes) Kuntze, 1891 (Arecaceae) species on mainland and island were Accepted December 21, 2019 evaluated to detect possible differences that reflect adaptive responses to the island environment. This study provides the Released first demonstration on the relationship of morphological December 31, 2019 differences of A. arenaria species. Height, perimeter, and total number of fruits and flowers from each plant were used for Full Text Article nonparametric analysis using the Mann-Whitney U test. The plants of the island did not show evident patterns in the different morphological characteristics of the plants of the continent. It is believed that the species may not be a good representative of adaptive evidence for islands. Keywords: Island biogeography; Guriri; Morphology; Speciation; Seashore palm; Plant. 0000-0003-2933-9764 Ana Paula Jejesky de Oliveira 0000-0003-0877-3270 Amanda Toledo Lourenço Introduction reduced size and isolation of the islands, scarcity of resources, decrease of Considering evolutionary aspects competition interspecific, lack of subject to isolation patterns, immigration predators and restrictions to dispersal and extinction rates and environmental over long distances are closely linked to patterns, they are targets for studies of the distribution and evolution of island biogeography (Petrocchi et al., populations to islands (Lomolino, 2005). 2013). Some ecological factors like the ISSN 2358-2731/BJBS-2019-0083/2019/6/14/4/515 Braz. J. Biol. Sci. http://revista.rebibio.net 516 Oliveira and Lourenço Species of isolated islands often of Guarapari and the extreme south of differ dramatically in size in comparison the Municipality of Vila Velha with their relatives on the continent, for (20° 35’ 04” S and 40° 25’ 27” W) around reasons that are little understood. the Parque Estadual Paulo César Vinha Although decades of research have (PEPCV), cut in half by the Highway of sought to better understand the changes the Sun. The APA Setiba presents 12.960 in size and other characteristics in ha of territorial extension, where, 7.500 animals that occur on islands, very few ha are in terrestrial environment, and studies have investigated the changes of 5.460 ha in the marine environment size in plants island (Burns, 2016). (archipelago of Three Islands, comprising There are some hypotheses for the largest APA State. The APA Setiba understanding the morphological works as a buffer zone to the Parque variation. In the event of a variation of Estadual Paulo Cesar Vinha (PEPCV). the niche is expected that the morphological variation overlaps Characterization of the kind of positively with the amplitude of the niche study (Van Valen, 1965). Another prediction Allagoptera arenaria (Gomes) under this hypothesis is that the Kuntze, 1891 is a palm in the Family morphological variation increases on Arecaceae, with a maximum height of islands (Meiri et al., 2005). The approximately 1.5 m and 2.0 m diameter populations of these islands face less cup. It is a kind monoic and distributes species competitors, and the increase of on the plain of Brazil, occurring from morphological variation may facilitate Sergipe to Paraná, in the dunes or areas the occupation of the space of the niche of restinga, in soils, extremely sandy soils available (Grant, 1965; Lomolino, 2005). (Lorenzi et al., 2004). It is one of the Alternatively, you can become less main facilitators in the succession of pronounced in the islands, contrary to thickets in the formation bushy of Clusia the predictions of the hypothesis of (Zaluar and Scarano, 2000), since it variation of the niche. This can result in germinates easily under natural the reduction of the diversity of habitats, conditions, and accumulates organic abundance of resources, gene flow, or of matter in the soil, allowing the the fluctuations of the cycle of taxa establishment of other species (Menezes (Ricklefs and Bermingham, 2002; Meiri and Araujo, 2000). et al., 2005). In this sense, we aimed to Collection and analysis compare attributes morphological The collection of the data was Allagoptera arenaria (Gomes) Kuntze, performed in species of the mainland and 1891 (Arecaceae) present on the island of the island in two days in the month of and the mainland, aiming to detect April of 2018. Each plant adult possible differences that reflect adaptive reproductive stage of the species and responses to the environment of the Allagoptera arenaria were marked as to island. its location by GPS, and measures such as the height and circumference total was Material and methods checked by means of a measuring tape. Information about the number of fruiting Area of study and number of flowering were also The study was developed in the recorded. Area of Environmental Protection of To check the normality of the Setiba (APA Setiba), created by Decree data, it was used the Shapiro-Wilk Test. 3.747-N/1994, which is located between The assessment of the morphological the northeast region of the Municipality variation and amount of fruiting of the Braz. J. Biol. Sci., 2019, Vol. 6, No. 14, p. 515-520. Morphological variation of Allagoptera arenaria 517 Figure 1. Graphical representations of morphological data of Allagoptera arenaria environment of the islands and mainland. In A represents the data of height of the individuals of the island and the mainland with a slight indication of plants island the largest. In B describes the data of the circumference practically equal in the two environments. In C describes the data of flowering of individuals in the two environments. In the D informs the data of fruiting, mature or not in plants the insular and continental. environment of the islands and the Results continental was used the non-parametric test U of Mann-Whitney Test. Using the Shapiro-Wilk Test, it was found the abnormality of the data. Braz. J. Biol. Sci., 2019, Vol. 6, No. 14, p. 515-520. 518 Oliveira and Lourenço With the U Test of Mann-Whitney test, effect on morphological characteristics the mature plants on the mainland and (Table 1). on the island did not show any significant Table 1. Results of the U Test of Mann-Whitney for morphological data of Allagoptera arenaria environment of the islands and continental. U test: Environment in insular and continental Height x Local Circumference x Fruiting x Local Flowering x Latitude x Local Local Local U= 189.5 U= 177.5 U= 141.5 U= 117.5 U = 257 p-value= p-value= 0.1396 p-value= p-value= 0.4204 p-value = 1.172e- 0.0562 0.8554 06 It was found that plants of the the islands. The population densities of island did not differ consistently in the species in the island are also much measurements of height, circumference, higher than that of the mainland number of fruiting or flowering and as (MacArthur et al., 1972; Rodda and Dean- the latitude between the plants of Bradley, 2002). However, the results of Allagoptera arenaria when compared to this study did not indicate significant the plants of the same species on the differences to confirm these hypotheses mainland (Figure 1). (Figure 1). According to Cody and Overton Discussion (1996), morphological changes associated with the reduced ability of Many processes are hypothesized dispersal in plants island can evolve very to promote change in taxa island. The quickly, perhaps in less than a decade. competition for limited resources might However, assuming the results are not promote morphological changes significant for the data of Allagoptera (Blondel, 2000; Millien, 2004), as well as arenaria, they also do not express the climatic differences (Clegg and Owens, hypothesis of Cody and Overton (1996). 2002; Millien and Damuth, 2004), It is believed that the sample number of changes in resource availability (Boyer individuals of the island may be small or and Jetz, 2010; McNab, 2010) and even the evolutionary time can be short different rates of evolutionary change on to highlight possible differences. the island (Anderson and Handley, In his study of island evolution, 2004). The sizes of the leaves, stems, and Carlquist (1974) speculated that changes seeds, for example, can evolve in a in the height of island plants could result coordinated fashion (Corner, 1949). from differences in the types of habitat The islands usually support fewer that plants can occupy on islands. Thus, species than areas of similar size on the the decline or increase in plant height in mainland (MacArthur and Wilson 2001; island plants may result from structural Whittaker and Fernández-Palacios, changes in their preferred habitat. 2007). However, Darwin (1859) had However, the population of Three Islands already raised the hypothesis that the showed no significant differences. In this increase of competition intraspecific sense, it also becomes opposed to the should favor the evolution of plants on variation hypothesis proposed by Meiri Braz. J. Biol. Sci., 2019, Vol. 6, No. 14, p. 515-520. Morphological variation of Allagoptera arenaria 519 et al. (2005), supported by the niche Blondel, J. Evolution and ecology of birds on variation hypothesis (Van Valen, 1965) islands: Trends and prospects. Vie et Milieu, because in this study it was not predicted v. 50, no. 4, p. 205-220, 2000. that the morphological variability is Boyer, A.