Forest type influence on Heliconia‐dipteran interaction networks

Abstract Phytotelmata are water bodies shaped from above‐ground plant structures that are inhabited by several insect species. Some tropical herb species in the Heliconiaceae present erect inflorescences arranged in bracts conforming phytotelms. Aquatic dipteran larvae living inside the bracts could be directly affected by the microenvironmental conditions present in the habitat where heliconias live, influencing the upcoming diversity and composition of adult dipteran communities. In the Lacandon region (southern Mexico), we evaluated the structure of heliconia‐adult dipteran interactions networks in Heliconia wagneriana clumps growing in primary continuous forests and secondary regrowth after human disturbance. For this, we determined the influence of forest type on dipteran communities within H. wagneriana inflorescences at two development stages: larvae and reared adults. A total of 213 bracts (phytotelms) were sampled, 101 bracts in secondary forests, and 112 in primary forests. Bract traits were recorded for each forest type. Larvae abundance was affected by bract traits and forest type, with greater numbers of larvae in secondary forest regrowth; while forest type showed no effect on reared adult abundance, species diversity, evenness and composition. Furthermore, heliconia adult dipteran ecological networks were nested in both forest types, indicating the affinity of some diptera species to use H. wagneriana as breeding sites. Our results highlight that H. wagneriana inflorescences showed a diverse dipteran community providing an important microhabitat for several species in conserved and human‐induced secondary forests.