The critical role of birds as pollinators of the Red and Green Kangaroo Paw, Anigozanthos manglesii

Pollination by nectar-feeding birds is critical for the kangaroo paw Anigozanthos manglesii. Although the introduced European Honeybee, Apis mellifera, is the most common flower visitor, experimentally excluding nectar-feeding birds results in 81% fewer seeds, 67% fewer fruits, lower allelic diversity and lower levels of multiple paternity. Hand pollination experiments identified the presence of a near-neighbour optimal outcrossing distance, with seed set highest between near-neighbours and paternal success decreasing with increasing distance between plants. These results highlight that pollination by nectar-feeding birds can have unique genetic consequences, and that the introduced honeybee may negatively impact the pollination of some native plants.