bee pollination

Pollination is an ecosystem service affected by anthropogenic activity, often resulting in reduced fruit set and increased extinction risk. Orchids worldwide have a wide range of pollination systems, but many New Zealand orchids are self-pollinating. We studied the pollination system of three saprophytic native orchids from the genus Gastrodia in modified landscapes in Canterbury, New Zealand: G. cunninghamii, G. minor, and an undescribed taxon G. “long column”. The species showed two distinct pollination systems.

Positive effects of fragmentation on plant reproduction are uncommon; in a literature review we found significant negative effects on fruit or seed set for 50 plant species, compared to 26 species showing no effect, and only nine affected positively. One of these is the declining New Zealand mistletoe Peraxilla tetrapetala (Loranthaceae), and here we investigate the mechanism of this positive effect. P. tetrapetala requires visits from native bird or bee pollinators to produce fruit.