tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:/xml/mauritius1 2008-12-16T10:15:50Z tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/3474 2008-11-28T14:30:39Z 2008-12-16T10:15:50Z Invasive ants are destroying the symbiotic relationship between a colorful gecko and a critically endangered flower on the island of Mauritius, reports <i>New Scientist</i> citing research published by Dennis Hansen and Christine M&uuml;ller in the journal <i>Biotopica</i>. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/1795 2007-04-17T14:30:39Z 2008-12-29T06:45:01Z <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://photos.mongabay.com/07/0417gecko1.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>A vibrantly colored gecko plays a key role in a highly threatened ecological community in Mauritius reports new research published in American Naturalist. Studying plant-animal interactions in Mauritius, an Indian Ocean island famous for its extinct dodo bird, researchers found that a rare plant, Trochetia blackburniana, benefits from its proximity to Pandanus plants because they house high densities of geckos responsible for pollination. The findings, which unusually identify a lizard as a key pollinator, are significant because they provide "valuable management insights for ongoing conservation efforts to save the highly endangered flora of Mauritius. Rhett Butler