Bromeliad phytotelmata: the first scientometric study

Abstract

Some representatives of this family have the ability to form phytotelma environments through the accumulation of water and organic matter, serving as substrate and food for a variety of organisms. Here, a scientometric analysis was carried out to show trends in scientific work on bromeliad phytotelmata and the importance of these microcosms for the maintenance of biodiver¬sity. The papers were analyzed using the Thomson Reuters, Scopus and Scielo databases between the years 1970 and 2021. Information was sought on the years of publications, geographic regions, countries, article design (descriptive, predictive, ex¬perimental, review), focus (ecological, biological, molecular), and ecological level of study (organism, population, community and ecosystem). South America presented the highest number of works developed with the subject and also with researchers involved. Most studies presented predictive designs focusing on community ecology. Insecta, followed by Crustacea and Anu¬ra, were the most studied groups of organisms. The results contribute to a better understanding of biodiversity in bromeliad phytotelmata, pointing out gaps and trends in research directed at these natural microcosms.

The hitchhiker’s guide to Australia: the 18,000-km-long journey of Alepia viatrix Jaume-Schinkel, Kvifte, Weele & Mengual, 2022 (Diptera, Psychodidae) discovered through citizen science

“…With the exception of a few species, there is no evidence of adult feeding in Psychodinae (Kvifte and Wagner 2017), and the ecological niche in which A. viatrix larvae develop is highly specific, i.e., water reservoirs inside bromeliad plants (phytotelmata). Bromeliads are native to the Neotropical Region (Breviglieri and Romero 2017), and some species can form phytotelmata, or water reservoirs, through the imbrication of the leaves; these water reservoirs are capable of maintaining small ecosystems with associated biota (Tsuda and Castellani 2016;Lopes-Filho et al 2023). Introduced ornamental bromeliads (Kolicka et al 2016;Wilke et al 2018;Poniewozik et al 2020) are implicated in facilitating establishment of viable populations in Florida of the non-native mosquito Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894) (Lounibos et al 2003;Wilke et al 2018), the vector for the transmission of several viral pathogens; thus, bromeliad phytotelmata are a good mechanism for passive invertebrate dispersal (Kolicka et al 2016).…”