Hidden Dispersal Partners on the Forest Floor: Land Hermit Crabs, Cockroaches, and a Non‐Photosynthetic Plant

Photo 1. Infructescences of Balanophora fungosa showing fruits and claviform bodies that are partially detached and raised above the infructescence surface (upper left) or remain firmly attached (lower right). Photo credit: Kenji Suetsugu. Photo 2. Selective exclusion experiments on Balanophora fungosa infructescences. When all visitors had access, nearly all fruits and claviform bodies were removed (A, foreground). In contrast, most remained on infructescences enclosed in fine mesh that excluded all visitors (A, background; B) or in coarse mesh that permitted access by ants while excluding larger visitors (C), although some had become partially detached and raised above the infructescence surface. Photo credit: Kenji Suetsugu. Photo 3. The land hermit crab Coenobita brevimanus and the cockroach Periplaneta australasiae feeding on the fruits and claviform bodies of Balanophora fungosa. Photo credit: Kenji Suetsugu. These photographs illustrate the article “Unexpected allies: Land hermit crabs and cockroaches contribute to seed dispersal in a non-photosynthetic plant” by Kenji Suetsugu, published in Ecology: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70462. No data were collected for this Photo Gallery.