Waddycephalus is an understudied genus of pentastomids native to Australia and south-east Asia. The genus was recognized in 1922 but there has been little research on these pentastomid tongue worms over the last century. A few observations suggest a complex life cycle through 3 trophic levels. We aimed to add knowledge to the Waddycephalus life cycle in woodland habitats in the Townsville region of north-east Australia. We used camera trapping to identify the most likely first-intermediate hosts (coprophagous insects), we conducted gecko surveys to identify multiple new gecko intermediate host species and we dissected road-killed snakes to identify additional definitive hosts. Our study paves the way for further research into the intriguing life cycle of Waddycephalus, investigation of spatial variation in prevalence and impacts of the parasite on host species.

Host–parasite co-evolutionary studies can shed light on diversity and the processes that shape it. Molecular methods have proven to be an indispensable tool in this task, often uncovering unseen diversity. This study used two nuclear markers (18S rRNA and 28S rRNA) and one mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase subunit I) marker to investigate the diversity of nematodes of the family Pharyngodonidae parasitizing New Zealand (NZ) lizards (lygosomine skinks and diplodactylid geckos) and to explore their co-evolutionary history. A Bayesian approach was used to infer phylogenetic relationships of the parasitic nematodes. Analyses revealed that nematodes parasitizing skinks, currently classified as Skrjabinodon, are more closely related to Spauligodon than to Skrjabinodon infecting NZ geckos. Genetic analyses also uncovered previously undetected diversity within NZ gecko nematodes and provided evidence for several provisionally cryptic species. We also examined the level of host–parasite phylogenetic congruence using a global-fit approach. Significant congruence was detected between gecko-Skrjabinodon phylogenies, but our results indicated that strict co-speciation is not the main co-evolutionary process shaping the associations between NZ skinks and geckos and their parasitic nematodes. However, further sampling is required to fully resolve co-phylogenetic patterns of diversification in this host–parasite system.

As with many islands, Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean has suffered severe biodiversity loss. Its terrestrial lizard fauna comprised five native species, of which four were endemic. These were abundant until at least the late 1970s, but four species declined rapidly thereafter and were last reported in the wild between 2009 and 2013. In response to the decline, a captive breeding programme was established in August 2009. This attempt came too late for the Christmas Island forest skink Emoia nativitatis, whose last known individual died in captivity in 2014, and for the non-endemic coastal skink Emoia atrocostata. However, two captive populations are now established for Lister's gecko Lepidodactylus listeri and the blue-tailed skink Cryptoblepharus egeriae. The conservation future for these two species is challenging: reintroduction will not be possible until the main threats are identified and controlled.

The pollination ecology and breeding system of Trochetia granulata (Malvaceae), an endemic tree species from Réunion were studied. In 2010–2011, compatibility studies were conducted on a total of 154 flowers from 35 different individuals using three different hand pollination treatments: (a) autofertility, (b) self-pollination and (c) cross-pollination. During the period, we also studied the pollination ecology of T. granulata. During 48 h of video recordings, we tracked flower visits to T. granulata in six different sites and studied the behaviour of the visitors. The results from the hand-cross experiments show that T. granulata is self-compatible (60.8% fruit set) but cannot produce fruit (5.4% fruit set) without the visit of a pollen vector. During surveys, four different visitors were reported: the introduced honey bee (Apis mellifera), two endemic species of white-eye (Zosterops borbonicus borbonicus and Z. olivaceus) and the endemic Réunion day gecko (Phelsuma borbonica). This study documented a new case of vertebrate-pollination by lizard and birds in an insular context. These interactions might be linked to several uncommon floral traits of Trochetia species.

Retinas of the nocturnal geckos, Hemidactylus turcicus, Hemidactylus garnotii, and Teratoscincus scincus, were studied with microspectrophotometry and immunocytochemistry against various visual pigment epitopes to reveal UV-sensitive photoreceptors. From 6–20% of the thinner members of type C double photoreceptors, earlier believed to be blue-sensitive, were found to contain a UV-absorbing visual pigment with λmax at 363–366 nm. The pigment had bleaching and dichroic properties typical of other photoreceptor cell types of the retina. Presumptive UV-sensitive cells in retinal sections were “negatively” labeled as they did not react with either the cone-specific monoclonal antibody COS-1 or with the anti-rhodopsin polyclonal serum AO, which together labeled all of the remaining photoreceptor types (green-sensitive A singles, B doubles, and thicker members of C doubles, as well as the blue-sensitive majority of thinner members of C doubles). UV cells were moderately stained with the mAb K42–41 produced against the 5–6 loop of bovine rhodopsin, which also moderately labeled blue-sensitive cells. mAb OS-2 strongly stained all outer segments, including the UV-sensitive ones. Similarities between gecko UV visual pigments, and UV visual pigments of other vertebrates, as well as possible functional significance of these cells are discussed.