Strawberry guava is driving beautiful endemic fauna homeless

The forests of Mauritius are home to several unique fauna that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Most of these endemic fauna are endangered due to the loss of their habitat. The native forests that once covered the entire mainland of Mauritius has been deforested or degraded by invasive plants such as strawberry guava. Consequently, the endemic fauna no longer have access to resources and ecosystem services provided by the native flora. Below are some of the endangered endemic animals that have been severely affected by the invasion of strawberry guava:

Pink pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri):

 

Have you ever tried to imagine what common pigeons would look like if they were pink? Well, now you don’t have to because they actually do exist in pockets of upland native forests in Mauritius. Thanks to the efforts of the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation, the Pink Pigeon was saved from the brink of extinction. There are now over 400 individuals in the wild but strawberry guava is invading their habitat and preventing the regeneration of native flora which result in a degraded habitat for the Pink Pigeon. 

Mauritius Fody (Foudia rubra):

In mating season, the plumage of Fody males turns bright orange-red from head to chest to attract the ladies. What a romantic! I was lucky enough to see one of these little fellas in my backyard a few times. Given that their favourite diet consists of fruit and nectar, I’m not surprised they decided to visit my backyard full of flowering and fruiting trees. Sadly, the Mauritius Fody is also endangered due to habitat loss by strawberry guava. Here’s a shot of a male Fody I took in my backyard:

 

Mauritius Fruit Bat (Pteropus niger):

 

Also known as the Mauritian Flying Fox, it is one of the two remaining native mammals of the Mascarene islands (Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Reunion). The Mauritius Fruit Bat is extremely important for pollination of native plants and aid in seed dispersal. They have also lost most of their natural habitat to strawberry guava invasion. To make matters worse for this little guy, the Mauritian government had recently issued a cull of the bat population to protect farmers’ fruit production. 

Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus):

 

In the 1970s, only four individuals were left in the wild and was regarded as the world’s rarest bird. With 400-500 individuals roaming in the wild today, the recovery of the Mauritius Kestrel population is the most remarkable raptor conservation program in the world. Although its population has undergone a tremendous recovery since then, the Mauritius Kestrel is still endangered today due to loss of its natural habitat. 

Blue-tailed day gecko (Phelsuma cepediana):

 

Although not endangered, this magnificent diurnal lizard is worth mentioning due to its important mutualistic relationship with several endemic plants such as the critically endangered liana Roussea simplex, Pandanus plants and Trochetia blackburniana. The blue-tailed day gecko is a key pollinator, and in some cases, the only pollinator of endemic plants. In return, the endemic plants provide the blue-tailed day gecko with resources such as nectar and secure sites to lay their eggs.

Just like the endemic fauna in Mauritius are dependent on the native flora for habitat and resources, the endemic flora are also dependent on native fauna for seed dispersal and pollination. So, restoration of the native forests can trigger a positive feedback effect – regeneration of native flora will increase populations of endemic fauna which will increase pollination and seed dispersal and this will in turn, increase the regeneration of native flora.

By promoting the regeneration of endemic plants, our project will help improve the populations of the endangered endemic fauna and ensure that years of efforts by the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation, National Parks and Conservation Services and other programs to rescue many of these fauna are not in vain.