Jocque & Kolby 2012 (Article) Water, Animals

Acidity of tank bromeliad water in a cloud forest, Cusuco National Park, Honduras

Author(s):—M. Jocque & J.E. Kolby

Publication:—International Journal of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 4(4): 59-70. (2012) — DOI

Abstract:—Phytotelmata are plant-held water bodies housing complex aquatic invertebrate communities drawingattention for their suitability as breeding sites for disease bearing mosquitoes, and the unique faunaoccurring in these habitats. Despite the human and scientific relevance, relatively little information isavailable on the water characteristics in these habitats and these scarce references consist only ofisolated point measurements. To begin filling this knowledge gap, we collected high resolution dataseries of the acidity and temperature of tank water from bromeliads in the cloud forest of CusucoNational Park, Honduras. Average bromeliad water remained acidic for the duration of this study andfluctuated between 4.3 ± 0.1 and 5.5 ± 0.5. Extreme pH values measured as high as 9.3 and as low as3.3. Water temperature varied between 14.8 ± 0.2°C and 19.2 ± 0.2°C. We found strong diel fluctuationsin water condition increasing in maximum and minimum values together with an increase in acidity asthe water evaporated. The variation in water temperature and pH were both strongly correlated with thesize (total weight) of the bromeliad. The presence of highly unstable environments with significantvariation between neighboring plants is a potential crucial element driving aquatic animal communitystructure in these aquatic habitats

Keywords:—Phytotelmata , bromeliads , maximum, minimum , mosquitoes