2026/01/23 by Daniela del Ángel-Hernández, Lilí Martínez-Domínguez, Fernando Nicolalde‐Morejón +1 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Botany and Geology in Latin America and Caribbean #Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond #Fern and Epiphyte Biology
paper · doi:10.5091/plecevo.160407
openalex publication_date 2026/01/23 · openalex created_date 2026/01/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/19
Background and aims – The timing of seasonal life cycle events is important for developing assessments of the extinction risk status, understanding the responses to climate change, and even evolutionary strategies. Many studies on phenology have been published about the impact of climate change; however, relatively little is known about phenological patterns in long-lived, dioecious species such as cycads. Cycad species are threatened with a high risk of extinction and require obligatory outcrossing for effective reproduction. While phenological research in cycads has been conducted in species with restricted distributions, the potential phenological variations in widely distributed species remain unaddressed. Material and methods – We analyzed phenological data of Zamia loddigesii , a cycad species with broad distribution. We selected 17 populations from Veracruz and Oaxaca, Mexico. The timing and abundance of vegetative structures were observed for 1874 plants. In total, 333 reproductive plants were found of which 216 and 117 were polliniferous and ovuliferous plants, respectively. On these plants, we recorded 589 pollen and 134 ovulate strobili. We explored the relationship between phenophases and temperature and precipitation. Key results – Our results showed a high synchrony at intrapopulation level and slight asynchrony within the distribution area for reproductive phenology. This asynchrony occurred at the northern portion. Receptivity and open pollen, at the individual level, lasted approximately two weeks, but at the species level lasted for five months with peaks of intensity between May and June. No marked seasonal pattern was found for the leaves with peaks in April and May, but leaves can be produced almost all year round. Temperature influenced only the reproductive phenological pattern. Conclusion – The vegetative phenological pattern appears to be influenced mainly by other factors including anthropogenic activities. These data allowed us to understand the reproductive dynamics that will contribute to the development of effective conservation proposals.