Bègue, Jean-François, Sanchez, Mickaël, Micheneau, Claire, and Fournel, Jacques (2014) New record of day geckos feeding on orchid nectar in Reunion Island: can lizards pollinate orchid species? Herpetology Notes, 7. pp. 689-692.

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Abstract

[Extract] Lizard pollination is common among insular floras, often being viewed as an island phenomenon (e.g. Withaker, 1987; Olesen and Valido, 2003; Godinez-Alvarez, 2004). Especially, the genus Phelsuma represents a key taxon in the reproduction of many native plant species (Nyhagen et al., 2001; Hansen, Beer and Muller, 2006; Hansen and Muller 2009; Le Péchon et al., 2013). Day geckos are mainly distributed in the southwestern region of the Indian Ocean (e.g. Austin, Arnold and Jones, 2004). These arboreal lizards are known to include a major component of nectar and pollen in their diet (e.g. Nyhagen et al., 2001; Olesen, Eskildsen and Venkatasamy, 2002; Kaiser 2006; Desoet al., 2008; Olesen et al., 2012; Clémencet et al., 2013; Minaar et al., 2013), and recent studies, conducted on Mauritius' and Reunion's floras (Mascarene Archipelago), have shown that lizard pollination involves a wide range of plant families, including Rousseaceae (Hansen and Müller 2009), Malvaceae (Hansen, Beer and Muller, 2006; Hansen et al., 2007; Le Péchon et al., 2013) and Araliaceae (Nyhagen et al., 2001). In some cases, pollination by Phelsuma species is vital to ensure sexual reproduction of native endangered plants species (Nyhagen et al., 2001; Hansen, Beer and Muller, 2006; Hansen and Müller 2009). To date, only one observation of a Phelsuma visiting orchid flowers has been reported (Micheneau et al., 2010), and beside this "single day gecko visit" in Reunion Island, only one case of lizard feeding on orchid nectar has been reported in Caymans Island (Burton, 2008), but on extra-floral nectaries only without visiting the flowers of Myrmecophila thomsoniana (Rchb. f.) Rolfe. Here we described and discussed the first case of Phelsuma interactions with flowers from the orchid family in Reunion Island, involving the endemic day gecko Phelsuma borbonica Mertens, 1966 visiting flowers of Angraecum cadetii Bosser (endemic to Reunion and Mauritius) and Angraecum bracteosum Balf. & S. Moore (endemic to Reunion).

Item ID:	38064
Item Type:	Article (Short Note)
ISSN:	2071-5773
Date Deposited:	31 Mar 2015 03:03
FoR Codes:	06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060201 Behavioural Ecology @ 80% 06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0603 Evolutionary Biology > 060303 Biological Adaptation @ 20%
SEO Codes:	97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences @ 100%
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