Tambarikosy

Nestled on the west coast of Africa, a plant lives 3000 km from its 3000 relatives. Most bromeliads are relatively similar in shape but take on a wide variety of habitats in the neotropics. Except one. Meet  Pitcairnia feliciana.

Plant-insect interactions constitute fundamental component communities of terrestrial ecosystems [1] [2] . The different types of plant-insect associations in nature are thought to have driven both plant and insect radiation [3] . The advantages of animal-mediated pollination have led to the evolution and diversification of specialist mutualisms between, for instance, plants and birds (e.g. [4] ), while the need for protection has spawned mutualisms between various tropical tree species and ants [5] [6] [7] . Herbivory, on the other hand, has led to an arm’s race of plant defence mechanisms and insect attack and feeding habits [3] . An ever-increasing number of studies demonstrate the importance of biotic interactions in driving evolutionary change, but considerably fewer reveal the mechanisms by which this occurs in real-time [8] [9] . Monarch caterpillar ( Danaus plexippus ) on milkweed ( Asclepias syriaca ). Credit: Kailen Mooney

Evolutionary consequences of Madagascar's isolation on extinct and extant vertebrate fauna © O'Reilly, X. (2010) Madagascar lies off the heal of the African continent. The world’s fourth largest island, on the map it is dwarfed by Africa’s shadow – but only in size.  Famous for the immense variety of weird and wonderful organisms it is home to, most of which are found nowhere else, Madagascar’s unique biological catalogue is the result of millions of years of evolution in isolation, as well as its dramatically varied relief. Its most famous inhabitants, by far, are the lemurs – a whole group of endemic primates that come in a variety of forms, each uniquely adapted to specific niches throughout island’s amazing range of habitats.   But lemurs are thought to have arrived on the island after its split from Africa – what was living on Madagascar at the time of its birth? What proportion of its current terrestrial vertebrate fauna actually split away with the is...