Tree Fuchsia an ideal plant to surveyTree fuchsia (Fuchsia excorticata) flowers are a much sought-after food source for a number of native bird species, in particular bellbirds, tui and silvereyes. Tree fuchsia is widespread and the levels of pollen deposition reflect the number of birds in an area. It also flowers for a number of months in the spring and summer. Unique pollination features of tree fuchsia enable us to survey pollination in one visit. The pollen is bright blue and highly visible on the yellow stigma. This makes it easy to tell if a bird has deposited pollen on the stigma (presence of blue pollen).
Past studies have shown that the amount of pollen on the stigma directly correlates with the number of birds that have visited, and with subsequent fruit set. Basically more visits lead to more blue pollen being deposited and more fruit set. Bumble bees and Honey bees also visit fuchsia flowers but are less effective at putting pollen on the stigma. Thus we can use the amount of the clearly visible blue pollen on a stigma as an indicator for how well pollination service is working at a site. By surveying thoughout New Zealand we hope to identify areas where tree fuchsia flowers are not being adequately visited, i.e. limited pollination services. |
