Complexo Ecclinusa guianensis (Sapotaceae, Chrysophylloideae): uma abordagem morfológica, ecológica e espectral

Abstract

In Central Amazonia, the number of species of Sapotaceae equals or even exceeds the diversity indexes of other families very well represented in the region, such as Fabaceae and Lecythidaceae. Only in the 25ha plots from the Projeto Dinâmica Biológica de Fragmentos Florestais (PDBFF), in Manaus-AM, there are ca. 10.709 Sapotaceae trees, corresponding to 101 species, of which for 38 do not have a formal scientific name. It is known that the delimitation / identification of Sapotaceae species, especially in rich areas such as Central Amazonia is not always an easy task, and it is often necessary to use several sources of evidence to assist this task. Ecclinusa guianensis Eyma, popularly known as Abiuruna-bacuri is one of the most common and sampled species within the plots of the PDBFF. However, in spite of its abundance, E. guianensis represents one of the many taxonomic complexes (n = 23) for Chrysophylloideae. This species is widely distributed in the Amazon rain forest, morphologically variable and with many intermediate forms occurring in sympathy in the areas of PDBFF and Reserva Ducke, both around Manaus. The goal of this study was to integrate different sources of evidence (eg, morphology, spectral data, geography and ecology) to evaluate if the forms of E. guianensis correspond to a single species, subspecies or even species. Morphological data were submitted to the multivariate techniques and sensitivity analyzes to test the boundaries between the morphotypes, which allowed the recognition of two groups according to the identifications they received a priori. Adding the spectral data the same groupings still remain, confirming the presence of two taxa within the species. However, the absence of flowers belonging to the "B" form, the presence of heterofilia and the different spectral responses suggest that the morphotypes correspond to individuals at different stages of development (ie., young and adult).