Naughton, Lisa C.

Putz, Francis E.

English

Aquatic Commons

May 1993 NOTICIAS DE GALAPAGOS 5
suggest that this animal ever cast his weary, sanguin-
eous eyes over the black shoreline of Galápagos. The
state of the body offers evidence that the creature had
been dead for at least several weeks.
Note: Whilst defleshing the head, which luckily
was largely clean, 1 was pleased to note a large
number of endemic four-eyed b1ennies (Dialommus
fuscus) skittering from rock to rock.
LITERATURE CITED
Scheffer, V.E. 1958. Seals, sea lions, and walruses:
a review ofthe Pinnipedia. University ofCalifor-
nia Press, Stanford.
Wellington, G.M. and Tj. de Vries. 1976. The South
American sea lion, Otaria byronia, in theGalápa-
gos Islands. Journal of Mammalogy 57: 166-167.
Godfrey Merlen, Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos,
Ecuador.
APPARENT POLLINATION OF PORTULACA HOWELLI BY RUDDY
TURNSTONES (AREN ARIA INTERPRES L.) ON ISLA PLAZA SUR
By: Francis E. Putz and Lisa C. Naughton
Bird pollination is a well-known phenomenon
observed among a diverse range of birds including
hummingbirds, blackbirds, sunbirds, and even wood-
peckers. Within ecosystems with depauparate faunas,
such as on isolated islands, plants may encounter a
reduced set ofpotential pollinators. On 3 April1991
we were surprised to observe Ruddy Turnstones vis-
iting the large yellow flowers of Portulaca howelli in
the Sessuvium dominated vegetation about 100 m from
the shoreline on Isla Plaza Sur. More than 10 birds
were observed visiting the flowers ofthis low-grow-
ing succulent. Each bird was observed to probe the
usually single flower on a plant for 2 to 3 seconds, and
then walk to the next plant and repeat the behavior.
Each bird visited 12-15 flowers per rninute during the
course of our 2-hour visit. Bright yellow pollen was
visibleon the beaks ofthe flower-visiting birds. There
was no obvious nectar in the flowers we observed
but about half had small (1-2 mm), dark-bodied in-
sects, including small flies (Diptera) and beetles
(Coleoptera). We suspect that the turnstones were
attracted to the flowers because of the presence of
insects, but whatever the reason for their behavior,
they appeared to be functioning as effective pollina-
torso Francis E. Putz, Department of Botany,
University ofFlorida, Gainesville, Florida 32611,


Apparent pollination of Portulaca howelli by Ruddy Turnstones

(Arenaria interpres L.) on Isla Plaza Sur

http://aquaticcommons.org/6078/1/NG_52_1993_Putz%26Naughton_Pollination_of_Portulaca_howelli.pdf

Apparent pollination of Portulaca howelli by Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres L.) on Isla Plaza Sur

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