Photo: David Littschwager/National Geographic
Just what live in a cubic foot in the tropical forest of Mo’orea, French Polynesia? You’d be surprised at the biodiversity:
National Geographic photographer David Liittschwager photographed this Metrosiderous tree and all 58 species he found crawling, flying, or taking root in it. He and a team of scientists accounted for 49 arthropods, 2 reptiles, and 7 plant and fungus species.
The forests of Mo‘orea are a combination of species introduced by the Polynesians and invasives introduced by European settlers, with a few scattered native species.
It could’ve been even more diverse, had it not been for a nearby ant nest: Link
