First record of geckos visiting flowers in the Palaearctic Ecozone

Assessing the Role of Lizards as Potential Pollinators of an Insular Plant Community and Its Intraspecific Variation

The role of lizards as potential pollinators on islands has been documented for either one or a few plants in different parts of the world, but it has never been assessed for an entire plant community. Here, we quantified interaction rate by lizards and evaluated intraspecific differences in the use of flowers on Cabrera Gran (Cabrera archipelago, Balearic Islands) by means of visual observations, automated cameras and the analysis of pollen grain samples. Overall, we recorded interactions of the Balearic wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) with flowers of 44 plant species, 72.7% of which were unknown to date. Although florivory occurs in some of these species (35%), the majority of visits were legitimate (65%); in addition, we found intraspecific differences in the interactions related to the sex and age of lizards. Our findings support the role of Balearic wall lizards as potential pollinators across the entire plant community, and their contribution to particular plant species, for instance the endangered Cistus heterophyllus carthaginensis. This study also documents the first record of another sympatric lizard (Tarentola mauritanica) visiting flowers and contributes to the few existing records of flower interactions involving geckos in the Paleartic ecozone.

Invasive snake causes massive reduction of all endemic herpetofauna on Gran Canaria

Invasive snakes represent a serious threat to island biodiversity, being responsible for far-reaching impacts that are noticeably understudied, particularly regarding native reptiles. We analysed the impact of the invasive California kingsnake, Lampropeltis californiae-recently introduced in the Canary Islands-on the abundance of all endemic herpetofauna of the island of Gran Canaria. We quantified the density in invaded and uninvaded sites for the Gran Canaria giant lizard, Gallotia stehlini, the Gran Canaria skink, Chalcides sexlineatus, and Boettger's wall gecko, Tarentola boettgeri. We used spatially explicit capture-recapture and distance-sampling methods for G. stehlini and active searches under rocks for the abundance of the other two reptiles. The abundance of all species was lower in invaded sites, with a reduction in the number of individuals greater than 90% for G. stehlini, greater than 80% for C. sexlineatus and greater than 50% for T. boettgeri in invaded sites. Our results illustrate the severe impact of L. californiae on the endemic herpetofauna of Gran Canaria and highlight the need for strengthened measures to manage this invasion. We also provide further evidence of the negative consequences of invasive snakes on island reptiles and emphasize the need for further research on this matter on islands worldwide.

Macaronesia as a Fruitful Arena for Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology

Research in Macaronesia has led to substantial advances in ecology, evolution and conservation biology. We review the scientific developments achieved in this region, and outline promising research avenues enhancing conservation. Some of these discoveries indicate that the Macaronesian flora and fauna are composed of rather young lineages, not Tertiary relicts, predominantly of European origin. Macaronesia also seems to be an important source region for back-colonisation of continental fringe regions on both sides of the Atlantic. This group of archipelagos (Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary Islands, and Cabo Verde) has been crucial to learn about the particularities of macroecological patterns and interaction networks on islands, providing evidence for the development of the General Dynamic Model of oceanic island biogeography and subsequent updates. However, in addition to exceptionally high richness of endemic species, Macaronesia is also home to a growing number of threatened species, along with invasive alien plants and animals. Several innovative conservation and management actions are in place to protect its biodiversity from these and other drivers of global change. The Macaronesian Islands are a well-suited field of study for island ecology and evolution research, mostly due to its special geological layout with 40 islands grouped within five archipelagos differing in geological age, climate and isolation. A large amount of data is now available for several groups of organisms on and around many of these islands. However, continued efforts should be made toward compiling new information on their biodiversity, to pursue various fruitful research avenues and develop appropriate conservation management tools.