Gecko Pollinator (IMAGE)
Caption
A bluetail day gecko (Phelsuma cepediana) dips into the nectar of a male-phase Roussea simplex flower, picking up a crown of pollen that it will transport to another flower. The gecko provides the only means of pollination for the critically endangered R. simplex, an unusual climbing shrub that is the only living species of its family, and, like the gecko, lives only on the island of Mauritius, 900 kilometers east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. A non-native, invasive species to Mauritius, the white-footed ant Technomyrmex albipes also dines on R. simplex nectar and fruit, sometimes blocking the opening of the flower with dirt to create a safe stable for mealybugs, which the ant tends in exchange for a sugary secretion of honeydew. The aggressively competitive ants chase off the geckos, resulting in greatly reduced seed set in ant-infested R. simplex plants.
Credit
Dennis Hansen
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