Arthropods associated with a dioecious bromeliad, Catopsis minimiflora Matuda (Bromeliaceae), in a shade coffee plantation (Coffea arabica L.) in the southeast of Mexico

Abstract

Shade coffee plantations are considered reservoirs of local flora and fauna. Epiphytic bromeliads are an important component of flora that inhabit not only shade trees but also coffee bushes in southeast of Mexico. At the same time, in these plants inhabit a diversity of arthropods poorly documented. We chose Catopsis minimiflora as the studied species because this bromeliad is abundant in coffee plantations and has a specialized reproductive system (dioecy). We counted the number of individuals of C. minimiflora growing over coffee bushes and shade trees and collected 58 bromeliads in two seasons (dry and rainy). We registered 2,048 arthropods (including 21 orders and 71 families) inhabited these plants. Based on hill numbers, no significant difference was found in richness between seasons; however, species dominance was higher in the rainy season. We estimated 27,215.5 arthropods/ha in the dry season and 31,227 arthropods/ha in the rainy season inhabited C. minimiflora that grow over coffee bushes. This arthropod community associated with C. minimiflora could provide ecosystem services such as pollination or depredation in a coffee agroecosystem. Epiphyte removal could have a negative effect on the abundance of this plant species, and in turn, it may have an impact on arthropods associated with them.