Flower traits of plant species and floral resource users in tropical dry evergreen forest on Coromandel Coast of India

We investigated flower traits and floral resource users of 110 plant species in tropical dry evergreen forest (TDEF) on the Coromandel Coast of India. The plant species offered various floral resources (nectar, pollen and floral tissue) to 54 faunal species. Bees were the predominant users of 78% of plant species, followed by butterflies (40% species) and thrips (30% species). The use of floral resource by faunal species was related to one or more flower traits such as size, shape, position, colour, scent, stamen position and blooming time. Among 45 plant families, sixteen families attracted more than three faunal groups each. The co-occurrence of floral resource users was also evident from the highest values of co-occurrence of flies and butterflies on the flowers of a given species. In bee-utilising flowers, Apis florea utilised 63% of plant species followed by Trigone iridipennis (52% species) and Apis indica (32% species). The diversity of floral traits among the plants and dependency of specific faunal groups on them underline the importance of maintaining the highly specialized yet complex relationship between the two for conservation of the tropical dry evergreen forest.