Observations of the natural history and ecology of Nepenthes campanulata

Abstract

Nepenthes campanulata is a little known species from limestone cliff habitats in Borneo. In this study, we conducted the first field-based survey of pitcher dimensions and the prey and invertebrate fauna in N. campanulata pitchers, sampled from plants growing on the cliff face above Deer Cave in Gunung Mulu National Park. We found that the dominant prey taxon is Diptera, followed by Formicidae. The metazoan community that inhabits the pitchers consists of just three species, making it one of the simplest in the genus. The pitchers of N. campanulata have a unique structure among Nepenthes, which may be related to the highly specialized habitat that the plant occurs in. Prior to this study, N. campanulata had been recorded at just two localities: Mt. Ilas Bungaan in East Kalimantan, and Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak. However, on a recent expedition to Palawan, we observed plants that we identified as N. campanulata, which represents a remarkable extension to the geographical range of this species.