Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Demography of the columnar cactus Neobuxbaumia macrocephala: a comparative approach using population projection matrices

  • Published:
Plant Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Neobuxbaumia macrocephala is a long-lived columnar cactus endemic to the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley in south-central Mexico. This plant has a very restricted distribution and few recruitment events have been detected in its populations. In this study, we analyze the N. macrocephala demographic pattern using a projection matrix in order to determine the main limiting factors of this species. To accomplish this goal, we compare our results with those obtained for another species of the same genus, N. tetetzo. Considering that both species inhabit the same valley, we believe that this comparative study will offer insights into the main demographic limitations of N. macrocephala. Results showed that these species of columnar cacti have similar demographic patterns in which survival is the process with the highest relative contribution to λ, followed by growth and reproduction. Of all the life cycle stages, seeds and seedlings have the lowest survival probabilities due to a high mortality caused by seed predation and effects of direct solar radiation on germinated seeds. The estimated growth rates indicate that populations of these species of Neobuxbaumia are in a numerical equilibrium. With respect to reproduction, N. macrocephala produce a lower number of seeds per plant than N. tetetzo. This low level of sexual reproduction may decrease the probability of establishment of new individuals in N. macrocephala populations. It is suggested that pollen limitation and pre-dispersal seed predation could be some factors that limit the distribution and abundance of this columnar cactus.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alvarez-Buylla E. and Slatkin M. 1993. Finding confidence limits on population growth rates: Monte Carlo test of a simple ana-lytic method. Oikos 68: 273–282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Angevine M.W. 1983. Variations in the demography of natural populations of the wild strawberries Fragaria vesca and F. vir-giniana. Journal of Ecology 71: 959–974.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byers D.L. and Meagher T.R. 1997. A comparison of demographic characteristics in a rare and a common species of Eupatorium. Ecological Applications 7: 519–530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caswell H. 1989. Matrix population models. Construction, analy-sis and interpretation. Sinauer Associates, Massachusetts, Mas-sachusetts, USA.

  • Crawley M.J. 1993. GLIM for ecologists. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Kroon H., Plaiser A., van Groenendael J. and Caswell H. 1986. Elasticity: the relative contribution of demographic parameters to population growth rate. Ecology 67: 1427–1431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esparza-Olguín L., Valverde T. and Vilchis-Anaya E. 2002. Demo-graphic analysis of a rare columnar cactus (Neobuxbaumia mac-rocephala) in the Tehuacán Valley, Mexico. Biological Conservation 103: 349–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiedler P.L. 1987. Life history and population dynamics of rare and common mariposa lilies (Calochortus Pursh: Liliaceae). Journal of Ecology 75: 977–995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • García E. 1973. Modificaciones al sistema de clasificación climática de Köppen. Instituto de Geografía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México.

  • Gaston K.J. 1994. Rarity. Chapman and Hall, London, UK.

  • Godínez-Alvarez H., Valiente-Banuet A. and Valiente B.L. 1999. Biotic interactions and the population dynamics of the long-lived columnar cactus Neobuxbaumia tetetzo in the Tehuacán Valley, Mexico. Canadian Journal of Botany 77: 203–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godínez-Alvarez H., Valverde T. and Ortega-Baes P. in press. De-mographic trends in the Cactaceae. Botanical Review.

  • Kruckeberg A.R. and Rabinowitz D. 1985. Biological aspects of endemism in higher plants. Annual Review of Ecology and Sys-tematics 16: 447–479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ortega-Baes P.F. 2001. Demografía de la cactácea columnar Escontria chiotilla. M.Sc. Thesis. Instituto de Ecología, Univer-sidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México.

  • Pierson E.A. and Turner R.M. 1998. An 85-year study of saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) demography. Ecology 79: 2676–2693.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SAS. 1995. JMP Statistics and Graphics Guide. SAS Institute Inc., USA.

  • Schemske D.W., Husband B.C., Ruckelshaus M.H., Goodwillie C., Parker I.M. and Bishop J.G. 1994. Evaluating approaches to the conservation of rare and endangered plants. Ecology 75: 584–606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silva P.C. 1996. Demografía comparativa de Pachycereus pringlei en dos unidades geomórficas contrastantes del paisaje en Baja California Sur, México. M.Sc. Thesis. Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México.

  • Silva J.F., Trevisian M.C., Estrada C.A. and Monasterio M. 2000. Comparative demography of two giant caulescent rosettes (Espeletia timotensis and E. spicata) from the high tropical Andes. Global Ecology and Biogeography 9: 403–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silvertown J.W., Franco M., Pisanty I. and Mendoza A. 1993. Comparative plant demography-relative importance of life-cycle components to the finite rate of increase in woody and herba-ceous perennials. Journal of Ecology 81: 465–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith C.E. 1965. Flora of Tehuacán Valley. Fieldiana Botany 31: 107–143.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sokal R.R. and Rohlf F.J. 1981. Biometry. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York New York, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valiente-Banuet A. and Ezcurra E. 1991. Shade as a cause of the association between the cactus Neobuxbaumia tetetzo and the nurse plant Mimosa luisana in the Tehuacán Valley, Mexico. Journal of Ecology 79: 961–971.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valiente-Banuet A., Arizmendi M.C., Rojas-Martínez A. and Domínguez-Canseco L. 1996. Ecological relationships between columnar cacti and nectar-feeding bats in Mexico. Journal of Tropical Ecology 12: 103–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valiente-Banuet A., Rojas-Martínez A., Arizmendi C. and Dávila P. 1997. Pollination biology of two columnar cacti (Neobux-baumia mezcalaensis and Neobuxbaumia macrocephala) in the Tehuacán Valley, central Mexico. American Journal of Botany 84: 452–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valiente-Banuet A., Casas A., Alcántara A., Dávila P., Flores-Hernández N., Arizmendi C., Villaseñor J.L., and Ramírez J.O. 2000. La vegetación del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán. Boletín de la Sociedad Botánica de México 67: 24–74.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal, 70-275, Coyoacán C. P, 04510, México, D. F.

    Héctor Godínez-Alvarez & Alfonso Valiente-Banuet

  2. UBIPRO, FES-Iztacala, UNAM. Av. de los Barrios 1, Los Reyes Iztacala, Tlalnepantla, 54090, Ap. Postal, 314, Edo. de Mexico, Mexico

    Héctor Godínez-Alvarez

Authors
  1. Héctor Godínez-Alvarez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alfonso Valiente-Banuet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Héctor Godínez-Alvarez.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Godínez-Alvarez, H., Valiente-Banuet, A. Demography of the columnar cactus Neobuxbaumia macrocephala: a comparative approach using population projection matrices. Plant Ecology 174, 109–118 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:VEGE.0000046052.35390.59

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:VEGE.0000046052.35390.59

Search

Navigation