Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 81 (4): 443-454, 2008
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Phenological patterns and reproductive success of Ceiba pentandra
(Bombacaceae) in tropical dry and wet forests of Costa Rica
We studied the phenological patterns and the reproductive success of 103 Ceiba
pentandra trees, located in the tropical dry and wet forests of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. To determine the phenological
patterns of this species we recorded leaf fall, flower and fruit production of marked trees every two-weeks from December through
March over three years (2001, 2002 and 2003). We also recorded the flowering and fruiting frequencies for two more years (2000 and
2004). Our data suggest that phonological patterns of C. pentandra trees behave as irregular cycles rather
than cycles fixed at supra annual intervals, and the forest type in which the trees are located does not have a decisive effect on either
the probability or the frequency of the reproductive cycles. The absence of a pattern of negative autocorrelations in qualitative
reproductive success (e.g., no reproduction, only flowers and fruits) among successive years suggests that the flowering or fruiting
cycles of this species do not correspond to a simple model of resource limitation. Our results show that there is no relationship
between the reproductive success and the periodicity of the reproductive cycles in this species.
Key words:
Ceiba
pentandra, Costa Rica, reproductive success, supra-annual phenology
