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News From the Field

Which Came First, the Moth or the Cactus?


August 13, 2007

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It's not a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket--unless you're a senita moth. Found in the parched Sonoran desert, the moths have a rare, mutually dependent relationship with senita cacti, one of only three known dependencies in which an insect actively pollinates flowers for the purpose of assuring a food resource for its offspring. Rice University ecologists are using the relationship to test new theories of community ecology.Full Story

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Rice University

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