Format: ORAL

Juan Pablo Santa-Ceballos1, Marcela Serna Gonzalez2, Vinita Gowda3, Hiroshi Suzuki-Azuma4

1 Estudiante de Maestría en Bosques y Conservación Ambiental, Departamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín, Medellín, Colombia 2 Facultad de Ingeniería, Tecnológico de Antioquia–Institución Universitaria, Medellín, Colombia 3 Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. 4 Faculty of Engineering, Toyama Prefectural University, Toyama, Japan

Floral scents serve as chemical signals to attract pollinators and thus play an essential role in the reproductive strategies of angiosperms. In Magnoliaceae, floral scents were identified as primary attractants for floral visitors. This study explores the chemical composition of floral scents in two Colombian endemics species, Magnolia jardinensis and M. yarumalensis, from the Andean cloud forests. Through scent collection by dynamic headspace methods, followed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, we identified distinct volatile compounds from flowers in their staminate and pistillate stages, in both the species. Magnolia jardinensis exhibited seven compounds, while M. yarumalensis displayed a more complex profile with sixteen compounds. Notably, five compounds were shared between the male and female floral stages of M. yarumalensis, reinforcing the notion of specialized pollination systems. The chemical divergence between these two Magnolia species aligns with previously observed differences in floral visitors and phenological patterns. Magnolia yarumalensis attracts beetles of the Staphylinidae family, while M. jardinensis attracts beetles of the Cyclocephala genus (Family Scarabaeidae). This work holds significance for conservation efforts. The specialized pollination systems observed in these Magnolia species highlight the vulnerability of these ecosystems to disruptions, underscoring the need for targeted conservation measures to safeguard the intricate relationships between Magnolia trees and their pollinators.