We compare the community assemblage of scarab beetle-pollinated Araceae (Philodendron, Dieffenbachia, Adelonema, Syngonium and Xanthosoma) and their pollinators (Scarabeaidae: Cyclocephalini: Cyclocephala) along a biological corridor from sea level up to 1500 m.a.s.
Therefore we use scent compounds, already known from the floral scents of several occurring aroid species, to attract beetles at different elevations. We also test if deforested areas act as barriers for the beetle pollinators in search of their host plants by comparing the attractivity of known attractants in forested and deforested habitats. The possibility of pollinator-migration between highlands and lowlands is an important factor for pollen flow and therefore gene-flow between plant individuals. This is the first study of Cyclocephalini scarab beetles and their host plants along an altitudinal gradient and it will give new insights into this mutualistic relationship.
Altitudinal variation of scarab beetle-pollinated Aroids (Araceae) and their beetle-pollinators along a biological corridor in Costa Rica
