Summary• Leaf size-stem size allometric relationships are important features of biomass allocation in plants and are affected by biological functions linking the two organs. They have been studied at specific and supraspecific levels, but not at the infraspecific level. It was hypothesized that allometric relationships link leaf size and stem size at the cultivar level, and are cultivar-specific in relation to distinctive functional stem traits: hydraulic conductivity and mechanical strength.• Allometric relationships between leaf size and stem size were established for 3 yr, using the standardized major axis method, on current-year branches, composed of one to 16 growth units, for four mango (Mangifera indica) cultivars characterized by contrasting growth habits. The hydraulic and mechanical stem properties of these cultivars were also measured.• The slopes of the relationships were similar among cultivars, but not the y-intercepts. Different y-intercepts in the stem mass vs branch cross-sectional area relationship and in the leaf mass vs stem mass relationship were related to mechanical and to hydraulic stem properties, respectively.• These results showed that leaf-stem allometry in mango cultivars was shaped by hydraulic and mechanical stem properties, supporting a functional interpretation of the relationship between leaf and stem dimensions.

International audienceThis study constitutes one of the few works conducted on the colonization of recent lava flows by fish communities in coral reef environment. It attempted to describe the mechanisms of colonization and environmental variables infuencing the structure of communities on the lava flows of the Piton de la Fournaise volcano at Reunion Island. It also proposed some hypotheses on the mechanisms of selection and speciation of endemic species of thesouthwestern Indian Ocean region, particularly diversified on the most recent lava flows of the Piton de la Fournaise, and provided a model of distribution of environmental and fish assemblage variables in four homogeneous patterns of colonization (landscapes) retained within the study area. The results showed fish community structure strongly related to measured environmental variables, of which depth, width of the island shelf, age of the lava flow and distance to the most recent lava flow were the most influential. It also appeared that the maximum endemic species richness was measured on the shallower stations, with narrow insular shelf, located on recent lava flows, near the lava flow from the eruption of 2007 (latest volcanic event). These characteristics define a harsh environment, to which endemic species seem well-adapted due in particular to their strong demographic and dietary flexibility. Finally, the patterns of colonization were characterized by significantly different environmental variables. The four homogeneous areas, defined by two geomorphological features, basalt blocks and drop-offs, nested within two locations, inside and outside the volcanic enclosure (current caldera), hosted fish communities whose dominant diets mainly depend on the nature, the abundance and the accessibility of available food resources. Overall, the study highlights that during early stages of ecological succession, site selection by fish communities is highly dependent on environmental constraints, specially of volcanic origin, but the physical habitat selection (geomorphology, substrate rugosity, percentage of soft substrate) seems to have littleimportance, while at least on the trophic structure and the distribution of endemic species

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