Effects of Species, Density, Patch-type, and Season on Post-dispersal Seed Predation in a Puerto Rican Pasture’ in and during secondary in Morphological Variation in Two Facultative Epiphytic Bromeliads Growing on the Floor of a Swamp Forest'

An experimental study of seed removal of four woody species in an abandoned pasture revealed significant main effects of species, density (higher densities survived more than lower densities), and patch-type (seeds under shrub patches survived more than in grass patches), but no effects of season. Rates of seed loss decreased with seed size across species. Significant interactions between species and density and between species and patch-type were also observed. ABSTRACT The epiphytic tank bromeliads Nidularium prorerum (a CAM plant) and N. innocentii (a Cj plant) can be found as terrestrial plants in the understory of a Brazilian swamp forest. They occur in segregated patches differing in light and flooding regimes; however, plants of each species are found in the other species preferred habitat in a narrow boundary zone where the two populations meet. Although ecophysiological factors were previously thought to dictate the distribution of these species at this site, we suggest that their current distribution is probably related to colonization history and subsequent competition for space.