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Image Title: Venezuelan Columnar Cacti
Image Credit: Janet Castro
AJB Editor: Karl Niklas, Cornell University
Intended End User: Teacher, Student
License Details: BSA - Terms for Image Use
Copyright held by: BSA,
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About the Image

The three most abundant Venezuelan columnar cacti, from left to right, Pilosocereus lanuginosus (Linnaeus) Byles & Rowley, Stenocereus griseus (Haworth) Buxbaum, and Cereus repandus (Linnaeus) Miller. These species depend strictly on nectar-feeding bats for their pollination. Bat-mediated gene dispersal confers high levels of genetic exchange among populations of the three species, a process that enhances levels of genetic diversity within their populations.

Link to the AJB Abstract for the article:

Population genetic structure of Venezuelan chiropterophilous columnar cacti (Cactaceae)

National Science Foundation  Development Supported by the National Science Foundation