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Vertebrate pollination of the endemic Trochetia granulata (Malvaceae) on Réunion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 May 2013

Timothée Le Péchon*
Affiliation:
Chengdu Institute of Biology (CDBI), Chinese Academy of Sciences, P. O. Box 416, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China Université de La Réunion (REU), Laboratoire LIM-IREMIA, 2 rue Joseph Wetzell, Bat. 2, F-97490 Sainte-Clotilde, La Réunion, France
Mickaël Sanchez
Affiliation:
Nature Océan Indien (NOI), 6 Lotissement les Magnolias, Rivière des Roches, F-97470 Saint-Benoît, La Réunion, France
Laurence Humeau
Affiliation:
Université de La Réunion (REU), UMR Peuplements Végétaux et Bio-Agresseurs en Milieu Tropical, 15 avenue René Cassin, CS 92003, 97744 Saint-Denis Cedex 9, La Réunion, France
Luc D.B. Gigord
Affiliation:
Conservatoire Botanique National de Mascarin (CBNM), 2, rue du Père Georges, F-97436 Saint-Leu, La Réunion, France
Li-Bing Zhang
Affiliation:
Chengdu Institute of Biology (CDBI), Chinese Academy of Sciences, P. O. Box 416, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China Missouri Botanical Garden (M), P.O. Box 299, Saint-Louis, MO 63166-0299, USA
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Abstract:

The pollination ecology and breeding system of Trochetia granulata (Malvaceae), an endemic tree species from Réunion were studied. In 2010–2011, compatibility studies were conducted on a total of 154 flowers from 35 different individuals using three different hand pollination treatments: (a) autofertility, (b) self-pollination and (c) cross-pollination. During the period, we also studied the pollination ecology of T. granulata. During 48 h of video recordings, we tracked flower visits to T. granulata in six different sites and studied the behaviour of the visitors. The results from the hand-cross experiments show that T. granulata is self-compatible (60.8% fruit set) but cannot produce fruit (5.4% fruit set) without the visit of a pollen vector. During surveys, four different visitors were reported: the introduced honey bee (Apis mellifera), two endemic species of white-eye (Zosterops borbonicus borbonicus and Z. olivaceus) and the endemic Réunion day gecko (Phelsuma borbonica). This study documented a new case of vertebrate-pollination by lizard and birds in an insular context. These interactions might be linked to several uncommon floral traits of Trochetia species.

Type
Short Communication
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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