Cryptic dioecy and leaky dioecy in endemic species of Dombeya (Sterculiaceae) on La Reunion.

The high frequency of dioecy on oceanic islands such as Hawaii and New Zealand has attracted a great deal of attention from plant evolutionary biologists. One reason suggested for the high prevalence of dioecy on oceanic islands is that taxa considered truly dioecious may have occasional hermaphrodite flowers, i.e., show leaky dioecy. In this study, we quantified the presence and distribution of leaky dioecy in a group of congeneric endemic species of the genus Dombeya (Sterculiaceae) on La Réunion island (Indian Ocean). All eight species show cryptic dioecy. Five species show strict dioecy and three species show leaky dioecy due to the presence of male trees that set fruit. Species with strict dioecy and large populations tend to occur in mid- to high-altitude moist tropical cloud forest, whereas species in smaller populations at lower altitude and in semidry tropical forest tend to show leaky dioecy. Two reasons for this differential distribution of strict dioecy and leaky dioecy are discussed. First, environmental variation along the altitudinal gradient, biotic and/or abiotic, may influence the breeding system. Second, leaky dioecy may be favored in lowland populations due to the small size and disturbed nature of such populations.