Nectar robbing effects over a key nectar source plant (Tecoma fulva, Bignoniaceae) in a dry tropical Andean valley

Zoophilous flowering plants have features to attract their pollinators, which may also be used by exploiters like nectar robbers. Nectar robbers access nectar by probing flower corollas (primary robbing) or using existing holes (secondary robbing). Nectar robbing can negatively impact a plant’s fitness directly by damaging the reproductive structures of the flower or indirectly by modifying the visitation patterns of pollinators. We tested the hypothesis that the robbed flowers are less visited by legitimate pollinators by comparing floral visitors and visitation frequency in primary-, secondary- and un-robbed flowers of Tecoma fulva spp. altoandina, a native shrub species that is an important nectar source for nectarivores in the dry valleys of the Bolivian Andes (Bignoniaceae). The Giant Hummingbird, Patagona gigas (Trochilidae), was the main visitor of T. fulva, and visited more frequently un-robbed flowers, followed by secondary robbed and primary robbed flowers. The variation in vi..., We conducted the study in the municipality of Mecapaca (16.639818º S and 68.015356º W; see Figure S1) near La Paz city, at ~2900 m asl in the Andean dry valley region of Bolivia (Beck et al., 2015). The average annual temperature is ~15 ºC and annual precipitation is ~400 mm (SENAMHI 2017). According to Schmida (1985) this region comprises a semiarid area. The dominant vegetation is scrub, with shrubs, herbaceous plants, and columnar cacti (López, 2003). Cacti such as Corryocactus melanotrichus and Trichocereus bridgessi, thorny shrubs such as Colletia spinossisima, micro-foliated and/or thorny trees, and shrubs such as Neltuma alba, Vachelia acuminate, and Schinus areira are common (Beck et al., 2015; names were actualized according to Catalogue of Bolivia from Tropicos: http://legacy.tropicos.org/Project/BC). Sunrise was between 6:30 - 6:45 h and sunset was between 18:00 - 18:15 h.
Tecoma fulva spp. altoandina (Bignoniaceae), T. fulva hereafter, has a disjunct distribution between 220..., , # Nectar robbing effects over a key nectar source plant (*Tecoma fulva*, Bignoniaceae) in a dry tropical Andean valley

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3tx95x6mn](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3tx95x6mn)

The dataset contains information on observed flower visits at two levels: at the plant level, considering all available flowers, and at the level of marked flowers of different types (unrobbed, primary robbed, and secondary robbed). The data also includes information on visitors’ species identity for all types of visitors, including pollinators, nectar robbers, pollen collectors, and those who only contacted the corolla. Additionally, there is information on the nectar volume of robbed and unrobbed flowers. The data was analyzed to identify and quantify flower visitors to flowers of a key nectar source shrub, *Tecoma fulva* spp. *altoandina*. The analysis revealed that the principal visitors are hummingbirds as pollinators, followed by nectar robbers and pollen collectors. Interestingly...