Territorial Fidelity to Nectar Sources by Purple-throated Caribs, Eulampis Jugularis

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Abstract
We present the first record of territorial site-fidelity across multiple years by Purple-throated Caribs (Eulampis jugularis) on three different islands in the eastern Caribbean: St. Kitts, Dominica, and St. Vincent. Marked male Purple-throated Caribs were monitored throughout the flowering season of their main nectar resources, Heliconia caribaea (St. Kitts and Dominica) and H. bihai (St. Vincent), both native perennial herbs. Individual males were observed defending the same Heliconia patches for 3 years (St. Vincent), 4 years (St. Kitts), and 5 years (Dominica), and remained near these patches even when they were not in flower. The territorial behavior and resource dependence of Purple-throated Caribs on native heliconias likely have a key role in the coevolution of this specialized plant-pollinator interaction.

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