Pollination
Pollination occurs through the interactions of nectar-feeding animals and flowers, frequently within a single plant or between neighbouring plants.
Pollination can also occur over much longer distances across the landscape. Highly mobile birds and bats move over large areas when feeding and disperse pollen hundreds of metres and sometimes several kilometres.
It promotes long-distance genetic transfer and increases genetic variation in the plants and plant populations the animals visit. Genetic variation builds ecological resilience in ecosystems, and can improve their capacity to withstand or adapt to human-driven change.
Threatened pollinators
There are several threatened birds and mammals in NSW that play important roles in maintaining critical ecological functions through pollination across the landscape (Table 1).
Shortages of nectar and pollen often occur through winter and early spring. These shortages, known as resource bottlenecks, have been shown to affect body condition, reproduction and mortality, increasing pressure on threatened pollinators.
Table 1: Bird and mammal pollinators listed as threatened in New South Wales.
BirdsCommon name (NSW conservation status) |
MammalsCommon name (NSW conservation status) |
Regent honeyeater (Critically endangered) | Grey-headed flying-fox (Vulnerable) |
Swift parrot (Endangered) | Common blossom bat (Vulnerable) |
Mangrove honeyeater (Vulnerable) | Eastern pygmy possum (Vulnerable) |
Purple-gaped honeyeater (Vulnerable) | Yellow-bellied glider (Vulnerable) |
Black-chinned honeyeater (Vulnerable) | Squirrel glider (Vulnerable) |
Purple-crowned lorikeet (Vulnerable) | |
Little lorikeet (Vulnerable) | |
Pied honeyeater (Vulnerable) |
The nomadic migration patterns of these animals mean they can’t be protected in a static system of conservation reserves and they are dependent on off-park conservation efforts, particularly on privately-owned land.