Lizard Pollination
Although lizard pollination has historically been underestimated, recent studies have shown lizard pollination to be an important part of many plant species’ survival. Not only do lizards show mutualistic relationships, but these are found to occur most often on islands. This pattern of lizard pollination on islands is mainly due to their high densities, a surplus of floral food, and a relatively low predation risk when compared to lizards on the mainland (Olesen 2003).
The lizard Hoplodactylus is only attracted by nectar on flowers, not pollen. This means flowers pollinated by this species must produce copious nectar as a reward for Hoplodactylus. Scented flowers are another important adaptation to attract lizards due to their acute sense of smell. Although lizards have the ability to distinguish colors, as nocturnal feeders, it is more difficult to see bright colors. Because Hoplodactylus feeds nocturnally, it is sometimes less important for flowers to allocate resources to showy inforescences. Flowers must also be robust enough to support the weight of the pollinator while feeding (Whitaker 1987).
In New Zealand, Hoplodactylus geckos visit flowers of many native plant species for nectar and pollen. The flowers of Metrosideros excelsa are pollinated by more than 50 types of gecko as well as birds and bees. Of the geckos visiting this species, two-thirds of them carried large amounts of pollen, suggesting a main role in pollination. However, after the arrival of humans in New Zealand, lizard populations have declined making it more difficult to witness lizard pollination (Olesen 2003).
Read more about this topic: Zoophily