The effect of substrate abundance in the vertical stratification of bromeliad epiphytes in a tropical dry forest (Mexico)

Diversity of epiphytes is associated with niche partitioning, through vertical strata and host preferences. However, abundance of substrate offered by hosts differs between vertical strata, misleading if epiphytes prefer a stratum or are randomly distributed. In a tropical dry forest of San Andres de la Cal Morelos, central Mexico, we tested the null hypothesis, that epiphytes follow the abundance of the substrate, rather than showing preference for a particular vertical stratum, and tested whether microclimatic variables, seed germination and seedling survival match with observed epiphyte distribution. Our data show that epiphytes could be randomly distributed inside some host; but in some host species, certain structures presented either a deficit or an excess of all, atmospheric, or tank epiphytes. In the hosts Bursera copallifera and Bursera glabrifolia, distribution of epiphytes was biased towards the upper strata, with a deficit of epiphytes in the lower strata. In Conzattia multiflora, Sapium macrocarpum and Ipomoea pauciflora, epiphyte distribution was biased towards the lower strata. Vertical gradation of light, seed germination and seedling survival did not generally match with epiphyte distribution and did not support the notion that the microclimatic gradient governs the vertical distribution of epiphytes. Our data indicate that vertical distribution of epiphytes in such tropical dry forests is mainly driven by the distribution of the structures, which apparently influence dispersion of the seeds and by the lifespan of branches, which allow the concentration of epiphytes in the stratum that optimizes seed capture and the clonal growth of epiphytes.