Research Highlights: Our study establishes the biennial nature of flowering intensity as a life-time energy-conserving strategy; we show unexpectedly high flower:fruit ratios despite extensive predation of buds and flowers by insect larvae; ‘selective’ bud abortion may be a key annual energy-saving strategy. Background and Objectives: We aim to explain the strongly biennial flowering pattern of Eschweilera tenuifolia, an ecologically key tree species of Amazon blackwater-flooded forest, inundated for up to nine months annually, and with large flowers (6 cm in width). Materials and Methods: We quantified the insect infestation of central Amazonian Eschweilera tenuifolia buds and flowers; we measured nectar production from flower opening onwards, examined flower duration and monitored pollen theft. We tested the role of infestation in bud abortion, nectar production and fruit production initiation. Results: Our study shows extensive predation of buds and flowers by insect larvae, as well as selective abortion of heavily infested buds, and limited loss to pollen thieves which fed largely on infertile fodder pollen. Nectar production peaked in the morning, with no nocturnal nectar production recorded. Sucrose levels were similar to congeneric values (mean 37.4%), and near-constant during production. Flower duration (4–5 days) was longer than reported for other congenerics. Conclusions: Insect infestation of buds can play an important role in regulating flower:fruit ratios, thus setting limits on individual total seed set. Individual Eschweilera tenuifolia appear to invest highly in reproduction every second year. Extended flower duration may be a strategy to enhance pollination success, but increases overall reproductive investment. Abortion of heavily infested buds may minimize allocation of energy to malformed flowers, which have a lower chance of attracting pollinators, thus functioning as a short-term energy-saving strategy. Additionally, biennial flowering in E. tenuifolia is likely to be an energy-conserving response in a highly physiologically-challenging environment. Thus, E. tenuifolia exhibits energy-conservation strategies at two divergent temporal scales.

中文翻译：

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芽，虫子和两年生：亚马逊中部黑水淹没森林中的Eschweilera tenuifolia（O. Berg）Miers的花生物学

研究重点：我们的研究将开花强度的两年期性质确定为终身节能策略。尽管昆虫幼虫大量捕食芽和花，但我们显示出出乎意料的高花：果比率；“选择性”芽流产可能是一项重要的年度节能策略。背景与目的：我们的目的是解释亚马逊黑水淹没森林中的生态关键树种埃希氏小锥虫（Eschweilera tenuifolia）的强烈两年期开花模式，每年被淹没长达9个月，并有大花（宽6厘米）。材料和方法：我们定量了亚马逊中部Eschweilera tenuifolia的昆虫侵染芽和花；我们从开花开始就测量了花蜜的产生，检查了花的持续时间并监测了花粉的盗窃行为。我们测试了侵染在芽流产，花蜜生产和果实生产开始中的作用。结果：我们的研究表明，昆虫幼虫广泛捕食芽和花，重度侵染的芽被选择性流产，并且主要以不育饲料花粉为食的花粉小偷的损失有限。花蜜产量在早晨达到高峰，没有记录到夜间的花蜜产量。蔗糖水平与同类值相似（平均37.4％），在生产过程中接近恒定。花期（4-5天）比其他同类花期长。结论：昆虫对芽的侵染可以在调节花果比率方面发挥重要作用，因此对个体总种子集设定了限制。个别的埃斯魏氏细小球藻似乎每两年就在繁殖上投入大量资金。延长花期可能是提高授粉成功率的一项策略，但会增加总体生殖投资。大量侵染芽的流产可以最大程度地减少对畸形花的能量分配，这种畸形花吸引传粉者的机会较小，因此是一种短期节能策略。此外，二年生开花在E.细叶很可能是在一个高度生理学上具有挑战性的环境的节能响应。因此，E。tenuifolia 在两个不同的时间尺度上展示节能策略。