The kwongan foundation : 4 July : 2014 Vision
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| 1 Kwongan NEWSLETTER OF THE KWONGAN FOUNDATION : 4 July : 2014
Vision
The patrons of the Kwongan Foundation look forward to a t i m e w h e n W e s t e r n Australians are proudly c o m m i t t e d t o t h e m a n a g e m e n t a n d
conservation of the State’s unique native biodiversity. Objectives 1. provide resources for research and study at UWA; 2. implement the gathering and sharing of knowledge; 3. enable long-term planning; 4. attract world-class researchers; 5. achieve tangible improvements in the long-term conservation prospects of endangered species and associations.
Professor Hans Lambers Dr Marion Cambridge Dr Rob Keogh Dr Cleve Hassell Mr Jock Clough Professor John Pate Lady Jean Brodie-Hall Professor Richard Hobbs Assoc/Prof William Loneragan Honorary Patrons Professor Alan Robson Mr. Peter Cundell Ms Marion Blackwell Professor Steve Hopper Ms Philippa Nikulinsky 2
www.plants.uwa.edu.au/alumni/kwongan The Kwongan Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation within the University of Western Australia’s Hackett Foundation, a Deductible Gift Recipient organisation (ABN:37 882 817 280) Cover photo is of Verticordia grandis taken on Marchagee Rd Nov 2013 by Sue Radford
This is the fourth issue of Kwongan Matters, and the third that has been produced under Susan Radford’s editorship. Sue continues to compile issues of Kwongan Matters and I am most grateful for her efforts. In my contribution in the previous Kwongan Matters , I showed how the biodiversity in our global biodiversity hotspot increases as soils become poorer, with phosphorus being the key factor. Last year, a group of authors has explored this issue in much greater depth, working t o w a r d s a n e w b o o k o n t h e kwongan, for which I acted as editor. It is entitled “
”. It will be published 1st Sept 2014 by University of Western Australia Publishing, Crawley, and made available at an affordable price. Everyone who contributed towards this book has done this out of love for the kwongan, without any financial gains. The book will be published three decades after the book that John Pate and John Beard edited, entitled “Kwongan. Plant Life
University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands. That book is now out of print and out of date, because of a wealth of discoveries made by numerous people, including many who contributed to our new book. W h i l s t e d i t i n g o u r b o o k a n d contributing some of the chapters, one realises how much we have learned in the past 30 years about our precious kwongan , which continues to be under threat. Having visited the cerrado in Brazil, 3 Hans Lambers Founder and Patron of the Kwongan Foundation Verticordia grandis Marchagee Road Nov 2013 (Kim Sarti) another biodiversity hotspot, which functions in a very similar way to our own sandplains, one notices one major difference. In Brazil, many large areas in the biodiversity hotspot comprising the sandplain vegetation are world-heritage-listed, whereas in south-western Australia there are none. A significant achievement, which may well be the first step towards heritage-listing of our kwongan, is having southern proteaceous kwongkan listed as t h r e a t e n e d b y t h e F e d e r a l Government. As far as I am aware, this is the first widespread plant and animal community so protected within the Southwest Australian Floristic Region. It is noteworthy that the word “ kwongkan ” is used, i n s t e a d o f
“ kwongan
”. In a fascinating chapter in our new book on our sandplain flora, S t e v e H o p p e r explains why we s h o u l d p r e f e r kwongkan
, rather than
kwongan .
O u r n e w b o o k s u m m a r i s e s current knowledge o f o u r g l o b a l b i o d i v e r s i t y hotspot, aiming to make that knowledge available to those who care and those who make decisions. That is why we need the Kwongan Foundation, which we established in 2006. To get the message out, we have organised Kwongan Colloquia, Kwongan Field Trips, and Kwongan Workshops. Our recent activity, our fourth Kwongan Workshop on WA’s Arid Zone, was on 22 July 2014, at UWA’s University Club. Kwongan Matters aims to ensure that far more people will become proudly committed to what our only Global Biodiversity Hotspot in Australia has to offer and ensure that our natural heritage will be conserved. This Kwongan Matters is, again, full of stories, based on careful research. Knowledge of our unique system is essential, if we are to manage our biodiversity. We need solid background information to advise with mining operations, development, and agricultural procedures, that do not destroy our natural heritage. That is why the Kwongan Foundation sponsors research with a focus on our native biodiversity. The next issue will focus on our department research at the University of Western Australia. 4
Peak with pink Verticordia Photo by Graham Zemunik Preface Plant life on the sandplains in southwest Australia, a global biodiversity hotspot -
linguistics 1A: On the origins, geomorphology and soils of the sandplains of south-western Australia 1B: Sandplain and kwongkan: historical spellings, meanings, synonyms, geography and definition Chapter 2: Biogeography of kwongan: origins, diversity, endemism and vegetation patterns
genetic relationships Chapter 4: Plant mineral nutrition Chapter 5: Carbon and water relations Chapter 6: Plants and fire in kwongan vegetation Chapter 7: Plant-animal interactions Pollination 7A. Evolution of pollination strategies 7B. The beguiling and the warty – pollination of kwongan orchids 7C. Pollination vectors: invertebrates 7D. Pollination vectors: vertebrates Herbivory 7E. The Honey Possum, Tarsipes rostratus, a keystone species in the kwongan 7F. Fluoroacetate, plants, animals and a biological arms race 7G. You are what you eat: plant-insect synergies in the kwongan Animals providing ecosystem services 7H. Ecosystem services of digging mammals
flora: threats and challenges Chapter 9: Human relationships with and use of kwongan plants and lands Epilogue The book can be ordered for as little as $69.99 (Including postage within Australia) at
http://uwap.uwa.edu.au/books-and- authors/book/plant-life-on-the-sandplains- in-southwest-australia/ 5
Australia A Global Biodiversity Hotspot Hans Lambers: Editor 6 In the above book the spelling of kwongan is changed in the chapters by Prof Steve Hopper to kwongkan
to reflect more closely the way it is pronounced in Aboriginal dialects. There is no emphasis on syllables in Aboriginal pronunciation, so I have chosen to keep the name of the newsletter the same for purposes of continuity. I urge the reader to pronounce the word kwongan as
kwon-gan , with equal emphasis on the 2 syllables. As you can see in this issue, there are flowers to be seen at all times of the year in the kwongan and everywhere. The everlastings are wonderful but there is so much more. Editor Verticordia lining road near Hawks Head (Graham Zemunik) Verticordia nitens (Graham Zemunik) Greg & Bronwen Keighery Overview Biologically the ‘ wheatbelt ’ is an artificial area in that it is the major agricultural zone of wool and row cropping for Western Australia. The Agricultural Zone extends south from north of Kalbarri to east of Esperance. The ‘ clearing line ’ is the landward boundary well east of the 600 mm rainfall isohyets, at about 300 mm. The Western boundary is the Jarrah forest. Within this area of 230,000 sq km about 74% is cleared of native vegetation. The remaining 26% of native vegetation is found scattered in: 612
of 116
hectares; 5000
miscellaneous government reserves of generally less than 4 hectares; and more than 20,000 private remnants typically very small being less than 1 hectare. Most large reserves are on the margins of the Agricultural Zone. Unfortunately this has led people to believe that the Agricultural Zone has less biological or scenic treasures than the sandplains or the goldfields. In 2004 the results of a major biodiversity survey of the plants and animals of the Agricultural Zone was published (Keighery, G.J., Halse, S.A., Harvey, M.S. and McKenzie, N.L. (2004)
Records of the Western 7
Wheatbelt Eucalyptus Wandoo woodland Insert : Rhyncharrhena linearis Bush bean : Summer (Bronwen Keighery) Australian Museum Supplement no. 67). This study highlighted the biological richness, past and present and the issues facing the flora and fauna in this highly fragmented landscape. The most natural part of the Agricultural Zone is the Avon Wheatbelt Bioregion (Map 1). Map 1
The Avon Wheatbelt is divided into two subregions: the Avon Wheatbelt 1 to the east where the drainage is very ancient and towards the east; and the Avon Wheatbelt 2 where more recent geological changes have caused uplift, the rivers are more incised and flow to the west. This core area has over 85% of the natural vegetation cleared. S o u t h w e s t A u s t r a l i a i s a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y r e c o g n i z e d biodiversity hotspot for flowering plants
and although most attention is focused on the richness and endemism of the kwongan of the sandplains of the Esperance and Geraldton sandplains bioregions, the Avon Wheatbelt is a key part of the Southwest Land Division. The Avon Wheatbelt contains a very rich flora of over 5,000 species of f l o w e r i n g p l a n t s o f w h i c h approximately 80% are endemic to the Southwest. The Avon Wheatbelt is the centre of diversity for a number of iconic groups including Acacia and Verticordia. Even though the Avon Wheatbelt is flat it has a great diversity of major ancient habitats ranging from granite rocks, fresh and saline wetlands, sandplains, dunes, loam and clay f l a t s , l a t e r i t i c u p l a n d s a n d greenstones, each with their own floras. Within these habitats are a diverse series of communities ranging from herbfields, succulent shrublands, shrublands and heaths to low and tall woodlands. T h e r a n g e o f h a b i t a t s a n d communities of the Wheatbelt is greater than any other area in Southwest.
The flora of two habitats: naturally saline areas and granite 8
(Graham Zemunik)
rocks, is the most diverse in the world
. The saline habitats are e s p e c i a l l y r i c h i n d a i s i e s ( A s t e r a c e a e ) a n d s a m p h i r e s (Chenopodiaceae). WA is the world centre of diversity for samphires. Subsequent to the release of the Agricultural Zone survey all data from this study was placed on N a
u r e m a p ( www.naturemap.dec.gov.au ). To build on this information a major effort was undertaken to gather baseline data on the region and present this in publicly accessible formats on Naturemap under the Wheatbelt NRM Baselining Project .
Five major reports are available on N a t u r e m a p :
; the
Avon Vegetation Map Project (over
400 Reserves have had baseline v e g e t a t i o n m a p s d i g i t i z e d ) ; Classification and Description of E u c a l y p t W o o d l a n d s o f t h e Wheatbelt (with 155 fact sheets on the 93 woodland types);
and
Plant Communities of Gypsum Soils. All biological data (plants and animals) were the basis for the listing of the Avon Wheatbelt area as one of Australia’s 15 biodiversity hotspots, hotspot 10 ( Map 2 ).
9 As an example of the diversity of the Avon Wheatbelt, we have recorded more than 813 species of flowering plants in Dryandra Woodland, including 73 Orchids, 70 Myrtaceae, 68 Proteaceae, 95 Peas, 60 Daisies, 37 Trigger plants, 29 Epacridaceae, 29 Lilies, 29 Goodeniaceae and 29 Sedges (Cyperaceae). These are the typical species diverse families of the kwongan (heathlands) of southern Western Australia. Keighery G., Keighery B. (2012). Vascular flora of Dryandra Woodland (Lol Gray and Montague state forests). Western Australian Naturalist 28, pp. 73–106.). This richness is equal to much of the northern and southern sandplains
(Bronwen Keighery) Stylidium uniflorum : Spring (Bronwen Keighery) Where to see the Biodiversity of the Avon Wheatbelt With the Avon Wheatbelt as the focus of interest, a series of five ‘Wildflower Loops’ centered on the shires that administer these areas, can introduce travellers to the biodiversty of this vast landscape. These loops are a series of drives through sets of reserves, which represent the original landscapes of the Avon Wheatbelt. All roads are suitable for 2WD, but extra care should be taken on gravel roads. Sections of these loops are described in detail in J im Barrow’s How to Enjoy WA Wildflowers. Wajon Publishing Co. (2013) . The websites given below lead you to shire sites that cover the routes, facilities and accommodation. One could easily spend a week in each of five areas to view the amazing range of species and c o m m u n i t i e s p r e s e n t . P e a k flowering time is Spring but there are always some species in flower at every time of the year. For example: Autumn and
Winter for the heaths (Epacridaceae); Summer
for the mallee; late Spring for the d i s p l a y s o f V e r t i c o r d i a ; f o r woodlands see their new bark in Autumn
when the trees are at their best; layers of small herbs, including the orchids peak flower in early
; everlastings peak in late Spring ; and the tuberous h e r b s ( P l a t y s a c e a n d A r t h r o p o d i u m ) u s e d b y Aboriginal peoples, flower in Summer .
Rhodanthe manglesii : mid Spring (Bronwen Keighery) Wurmbia drummondii Winter (B.Keighery) Focus Avon Wheatbelt 2 - Rejuvenated Drainage Northern Western Wheatbelt
Starting in Perth, head towards Moora to see heaths of the Dandarragan Plateau, then east to Wongan Hills and across to the M a n m a n n i n g r e s e r v e s a n d Marchagee Nature Reserve through the Shires of Moora, Victoria Plains, Northam, Cunderdin, Goomalling, Dowerin and Wongan-Ballidu. Then continue on to the Shires of Dallwallinu, Mingenew, Mullewa, Morawa, Perenjori, Carnamah and Three Springs (see self drive trail at www.wildflowercountry.com.au ). One can return to Perth either via the Geraldton Sandplains or via Great Northern Highway and diverge through Julimar Conservation Park to see the transition to the northern Jarrah Forest. This is partially covered in the red trail in Barrow (2013) between Mullewa, Canna, Dalwallinu and Wongan Hills. Southern Wheatbelt This trip goes beyond the Avon 11 In terms of +loral diversity the Shire of Kulin has over 1,300 native +lora species, the adjacent Shire of Kondinin over 1,400. For the two large upland reserves (Bendering and North Karlgarin) we have recorded over 740 species, including 41 species of Acacia (114 in Shire); 20 Eucalyptus (75 in Shire); 24 Verticordia (24 in Shire); 26 Melaleuca (55 in Shire) and 6 Leucopogon (17 in Shire, 8 undescribed!). There is more to be found and recorded. Austrostipa elegantissima : Summer (Bronwen Keighery) Wheatbelt into the Mallee Bioregion (Map 1), east of the Agricultural Zone. Travel through the Shires of Wagin, Dumbleyung, Lake Grace and Kent starting from Narrogin. From Narrogin head to Harrismith townsite reserve (Banksia baueri h e a t h s ) a n d D o n g o l o c k i n g Reserves; then to Tarin Rock reserve (diverse heaths); east to Dragon Rocks, Dunn Rock Reserve and then Frank Hann reserve ( V e r t i c o r d i a d i s p l a y s ) . T h e Agricultural Zone margins of two other bioregions, Jarrah Forest and Esperance Sandplains, are touched on. These are the shires of B r o o m e h i l l , Ta m b e l l u p a n d Gnowangerup. A good trail can be found at www.australiasgoldenoutback.com.au . Barrow’s purple route. Western Wheatbelt This is in an area of rejuvenated drainage (rivers run west to the sea) that abuts the Jarrah Forest, but also includes the most cleared shires of the Avon Wheatbelt (Corrigin, Quairading and Tamin). This region includes the shires of Wandering, Williams, West Arthur, Narrogin, Cuballing, Kojonup, Pingelly, Corrigin, Beverley and Tamin. This is partly covered in B a r r o w ’s r e d r o u t e b e t w e e n Quairading, Merredin, Muckinbudin and back through Dryandra. To see the diversity of plant communities and plants, do a loop from Perth south to the reserves of Boyagin and Dryandra. After Dryandra, loop through Tutanning to see lateritic heaths. On the second day go to Corrigin Water Reserve, and back to Perth either via Quairading and Charles Gardner National Park (Tammin) for a wide variety of sandplain heaths (Mallee, Banksia and Shrub dominated); or continue east to Hyden/Kulin. Focus Avon Wheatbelt 1 - uncoordinated drainage .
Central and South Eastern Wheatbelt This includes the Shires of Wickepin, Kondinin, Kulin, Bruce Rock and Narembeen. Here the focus is centered on Kulin. From Corrigin continue towards Hyden and at K o n d i n i n h e a d n o r t h o n t h e Williams-Kondinin Road then east on Bendering Reserve Road through Bendering and North Kalgarin Reserves. These areas display a wide variety of habitats and communities 12
(Bronwen Keighery)
(Bronwen Keighery) including granite areas, woodlands, mallet woodlands and a diverse range of lateritic and sandplain heaths. Travelling back towards Kulin from Hyden though Kalgarin Nature Reserve (Hyden to Kondinin road) are wonderful woodlands, then south on Kalgarin road to Pederah Road and west to the Kondinin Salt marsh to see examples of the flora of gypsum-dominated, natural saline communities. From Kulin itself you can easily spend a day or two visting the local reserves. Start in the Macrocarpa Trail just outside the town which features the Shire’s Floral Emblem. The reserves and roads are listed in Shire website ( www.kulin.wa.gov.au ) under /tourism/wildflowers and /file/ wildflowerbrochure.pdf). This is partially covered in Barrow’s red route
Corrigin to Kulin. North-Eastern The shires of Beacon, Bencubbin, D o w e r i n , K o o r d a , M e r r e d i n , Mukinbuddin, Nungarin, Southern Cross, Trayning, Westonia and W y l a l k a t c h e m h a v e b a s i c w i l d f l o w e r v i e w i n g t r a i l s ( www.westernaustralia.com.au ) as
well as a granite rock trail and W a v e
R o c k t r a i l ( w w w. w h e a t b e l t w a y. c o m . a u ) ( www.wheatbelttourism.com.au ). Kulin has a branch of the Wildflower Society of Western Australia and hosts a herbarium. Recently it was the location for the State Conference of the Wildflower Society (WSWA). Kulin has approximately 2% of natural bush vegetation left in the area, but is well worth seeing. There is much hard work and commitment from the local people, who put huge amounts of time and energy into conserving the local flora; working to maintain and grow the herbarium that the local WSWA has developed Working with the local landowners to keep ahead of invading weeds with 13 KULIN SHOWCASE Hakea scoparia Macrcarpa Trail : June 2014 (Kim Sarti)
(Sue Radford) the ‘Spotters Program’, designated ‘Walkers” search for any incidence of weed invasion. This early warning system allows the weeds to be dealt with before they become a problem. Up to 20 areas have been identified for conservation at Kulin. The best known is the Macrocarpa Walk, which is located on the way into town from the north and is on private land. Even in late October last year there was a wonderful show of wildflowers from tall shrubs to abundant ground covers. Other areas of significance are: the Kulin Road Nature Reserve; Jilakin Rock, which is an A class reserve maintained by the shire and the Windmill Hill block, which is a remnant vegetation where the ‘Kulin wattle’ is to be found ( See Flora Base for photos by Sandra Murray ).
In addition there is; ‘Our Patch’, an area of sandalwood with Acacia spp. as hosts, which is fenced and managed for weed control; part of the golf course and the ‘Rock P a d d o c k ’ w h i c h i s c u r r e n t l y undergoing a management survey. There is remnant vegetation next to the airstrip, where surveys have found a beautiful orange eucalypt, possibly a variant of E. erythronema. 14
Macrocarpa Trail, Kulin :Oct 2013 (Kim Sarti) Verticordia tumida Macrocarpa Trail : Kulin, Dec 2013 (Kim Sarti)
Oct 2013. (Sue Radford) There is a good population of Eremophila veneta on the road verge near the town on the Lake Grace road, marked by DPaW ‘hockey’ sticks, which is being monitored. Part of the old c a r a v a n p a r k h a s b e e n r e v e g e t a t e d u s i n g d i r e c t seeding using branches from local plants. This rich floral h e r i t a g e i s b e i n g replanted on s o m e l o c a l properties. 15
Kulin : Oct 2013 Photo Kim Sarti Lepidosperma and
Verticordia chrysantha October: Kulin -Corrigin Rd (Robin Campbell) Allocasuarina sp Oct Kulin (Kim Sarti) Thysonotus Sp. : Dec (Robin Campbell) Ptilotus manglesii : Nov. (Robin Campbell) Lichens on live shrub at Jilakin Rock (Robin Campbell) Grevillea hookeriana : Oct (Robin Campbell) Drosera bulbosa : Jilakin rock (Robin Campbell) Beaufortia orbifolia : Nov: (Robin Campbell) Dr Terry Houston Research Associate:Terrestrial Zoology Western Australian Museum Formerly Curator of Insects Native bees are among the most efficient pollinators of kwongan plants and while some of them are generalists, visiting a wide range of plant taxa, many others specialize. There are bees which confine their foraging to flowers of just one family, genus or even just a single species. Highly specialized bees tend to have much more confined geographic ranges and flight seasons than the generalists and their discovery requires being in the right place at the right time. Discoveries of ‘new’ species of bees are not uncommon and we can only wonder how many more bee species await discovery. Western Australia’s floristically rich kwongan habitats have yielded many previously unknown species of bees over the years, some exhibiting fascinating adaptations to their 16
Female of the common blue-banded bee, Amegilla chlorocyanea. Blue-banded bees are supreme generalists in terms of the range of flowers they can exploit for nectar and pollen. Photo: Bryony Fremlin. forage plants. In this article, I outline a few examples that have come to my attention over the years and look to what we might hope to find in future. Among the members of the family Myrtaceae are some taxa that p r o d u c e o i l y p o l l e n ( e . g . Chamelaucium, Darwinia and Verticordia). In some species, the oily pollen is held on the anthers, while in others, it gets transferred in the bud stage to a substigmatic ring of hairs on the style. Many insects, including bees, are attracted to these flowers to feed on nectar and are likely to be daubed with the pollen/oil mixture. The majority of bees, though, are unable to harvest pollen from such flowers. Only one group of bees is adapted to do so w h i c h g r o u p i s t h e
‘euryglossines’ (members of the subfamily Euryglossinae in the family Colletidae). They swallow pollen, whether oily or not, and transport it to the nests in their crops (called ‘honey stomachs’). One of the first species-specific e u r y g l o s s i n e b e e s t h a t I encountered was the tiny Morrison Bee, Euhesma morrisoni. It proved to be the exclusive pollinator of the Morrison Feather-flower, Verticordia nitens, the brilliant orange flowers of which appear in profusion on the Swan Coastal Plain in summer. Like other members of the Verticordia (Chrysoma) group, V. nitens retains its oily pollen beneath curious hoods 17
or appendages on the anthers. Females of the specialist bee lick each anther to extract the pollen and oil (Houston et al. 1993). Following the discovery of this species, I went on to find other species of Euhesma, and some of
specific to various other Verticordia species (including some exhibiting secondary pollen-presentation). While the Dasyhesma species were described and named, thanks to euryglossine specialist Dr Elizabeth E x l e y ( 2 0 0 4 ) , t h e a d d i t i o n a l Euhesma species are still unnamed. Unfortunately, Dr Exley died before she could complete her revision of this genus. The great majority of the 1 0 2 r e c o g n i z e d s p e c i e s o f
for bee visitors and who knows how many more Verticordia-specialist bees remain to be discovered? From my earliest days of bee- collecting in Western Australia, I was intrigued by the peculiar ‘woolly’ flowers of the smokebushes, C o n o s p e r m u m s p e c i e s , a n d wondered what pollinated them. Persistent watching eventually paid off with the discovery of three species of small, solitary bees that specialized in such flowers and form w h a t i s n o w k n o w n a s t h e
Males are densely clothed in white pubescence and when settled on the flowers, are extremely hard to spot. As females are less hairy and much easier to see while foraging, I believe it is a case of males being camouflaged for ‘ambush mating’.
Another interesting aspect of smokebushes is their explosive pollen release mechanism. When an insect inserts its proboscis into a smokebush flower, it triggers an instantaneous mechanical reaction: the style snaps across the corolla 18
tube and the anthers burst, releasing their pollen. An insect inserting a long, thin proboscis risks getting it trapped between the style and c o r o l l a t u b e w a l l . F e m a l e smokebush bees, though, are well- adapted to the flowers, having a short, stubby proboscis covered with stiff bristles. The bristles serve to hold a load of pollen around the proboscis until the female can groom it off and transfer it to specialized hairs on the hind legs. Members of the L. conospermi group have been recorded visiting flowers of four Conospermum species (crassinervium, incurvum,
genus Conospermum comprises 53 species exhibiting considerable floral diversity. For most of them we do not know the pollen vectors. How many more of them will be found to be pollinated by native bees and how many of those will be specialized? The endemic WA genus Synaphea with 56 species is closely related to Conospermum and shares with it an explosive pollen-release system. Its flowers, then, appear to be adapted for insect pollination.
My first sighting of bees working flowers of this genus came in the spring of 2008 while I was working in Boonanarring Nature Reserve north of Gingin. I observed numerous males and females of a black, m e d i u m - s i z e d s o l i t a r y b e e (Leioproctus species) collecting pollen and nectar from flowers of S. grandis. The bees were not seen to visit flowers of any other kind. Around the same time in the same reserve, I collected just a single specimen of a different Leioproctus on flowers of S. spinulosa. It wasn’t u n t i l s p r i n g t h i s y e a r t h a t I encountered this second species again in Yanchep National Park. I found both sexes numerous about flowers of S. spinulosa. I’m puzzled as to why I hadn’t observed either of 19
these Synaphea specialists during the previous 30-odd years I’d spent collecting bees in Western Australia. It hadn’t been for lack of looking. So, the question now is what bees visit and pollinate the remaining 54 species of Synaphea? The kwongan flora is so diverse that I think we can be assured of many further discoveries of new bee species and interesting bee-flower r e l a t i o n s h i p s . G i v e n m y experiences, it may require many observers to survey the floral visitors of particular plant taxa over many years before we can be confident that we know all of the bees that are associated with those plants. References Exley, E.M. 2004. Revision of the genus Dasyhesma Michener ( A p o i d e a : C o l l e t i d a e : Euryglossinae). Records of the
Houston, T.F. 1989. Leioproctus bees associated with Western Australian smoke bushes (Conospermum spp.) and their adaptations for foraging and concealment (Hymenoptera: Colletidae: Paracolletini). Records of the Western A u s t r a l i a n M u s e u m 1 4 : 275-92.
Houston, T.F., Lamont, B.B., Radford, S., Errington, S.G. 1993. Apparent mutualism between Verticordia nitens and V. aurea (Myrtaceae) and their oil-ingesting bee pollinators (Hymenoptera: Colletidae).
20
(Ken McNamara)
Dr Jim Barrow Former Chief Research ScienZst : CSIRO Fans of David Attenborough will remember him talking about buzz pollination. To demonstrate it, he brings a tuning fork, tuned to the correct frequency, up to the flower in order to induce it to eject its pollen. The tuning fork mimics the action of several species of bee that also vibrate their wing muscles at the appropriate frequency and this causes the anthers to shed their pollen. These flowers don’t provide nectar; the pollen is the reward. About 180 species of our plants are buzz pollinated. Several species of native bee, such as the blue-banded bees, can do it. Honeybees cannot, but bumblebees can. The anthers of buzz pollinated flowers are typically long and thin and have a pore at the top end. This flower structure is common in Solanaceae species including tomato which is why growers of glasshouse tomatoes would like to import bumble bees into mainland Australia. If a flower is to rely on buzz pollination, it needs to attract the appropriate bees to the flower. It is therefore a good idea to adopt a common colour scheme and a similar structure. Many buzz pollinated flowers mimic the solanum colour scheme, that is, blueish- mauve petals (and sepals for monocots) and bright yellow anthers. These colours are used by plants in widely differing families. Buzz pollination also occurs in
there the colour scheme is white and purple. However buzz pollination also occurs in yellow flowers such as Hibbertia, Senna and Labichea (see photos below). So why are blue and yellow flowers used by many 21 ON BUZZ POLLINATION AND BEE PURPLE Hibbertia
sp species but yellow flowers used by others?
Hibbertia is a genus with about 150 species in Australia and about 85 in Western Australia. The genus takes its name from George Hibbert (1757-1837) an eminent merchant and amateur botanist. Here, in the south-west, there would be few patches of bushland without at least one species of Hibbertia present. For all but three species of Hibbertia, the flowers are yellow. For the three exceptions they are shades of orange. Senna and Labichea are both legumes and for many years, botanists were uncertain how to classify the three kinds of legumes. The three kinds are: those with a pea flower; those with a mimosa flower such as the wattles and those with cassia type flower. Are there three separate families, all members of a “super-family”? This was the arrangement adopted by the Western Australian Flora Descriptive Catalogue published in 2000. Or is there just one large family with three s u b - f a m i l i e s ? T h i s i s t h e arrangement now preferred. This large family used to be called Leguminosae so that, in common with other large and important families such as the grass, the carrot, and the cabbage families, it broke the rule that families are to be named after the type genus but with the ending changed to “aceae”. These errant families have now been brought into line. For the legumes, the type genus is Faba a n d s o t h e f a m i l y b e c o m e s Fabaceae. The Senna genus has had a complex taxonomic history. For a long time, it was included in Cassia, and Australian species were thought to belong to that genus. That is why the common name of many of the 22
species is ‘cassia’. For example, Senna artemisioides is known as Silver cassia. As currently recognised, Senna has about 350 species world wide with about 80% of them occurring in America. Western Australia has about 40 species, mostly occurring outside the better-watered areas of the south-west. The “standard” number of stamens is 10. However, in many species, three of them are infertile and the remaining seven may be modified so that two deposit their pollen on the back of the bee and the others provide it with the reward.
Labichea is a much smaller g e n u s w i t h a b o u t 1 4 species, nine of which occur in Western Australia, with t h e r e m a i n d e r i n Q u e e n s l a n d a n d t h e Northern Territory. It is named for Jean Jacques Labiche, second lieutenant of Uranie on Frecenet’s voyage. It differs from
two stamens. Of our nine species, only two are common in the south-west. These are L. punctata (with anthers of similar size) and L.
You may not have noticed these plants. It is easy to walk past them thinking the flowers are “just” another Hibbertia. And that is worth thinking about. Why the similarity? To have produced such similarity, there must have been a very strong selection pressure and considerable advantage to the plant. This selection pressure was exerted by bees who also recognise the solanum colour pattern. The answer to this question may be in the way that bees and humans perceive colour. See the above chart. Bees and humans both have three- colour vision. However, we see different parts of the spectrum. Bee 23
v i s i o n i s s h i f t e d t o s h o r t e r wavelengths; they do not see red and for them the longest visible wavelength is yellow, but they see well into the ultraviolet down to wavelengths that are invisible to us. When we see a mixture of the long wavelength red, and the short wavelength blue, we interpret the resulting colour as purple. When bees see a mixture of their long wavelength, which is yellow, and their short wavelength ultraviolet, they also interpret it as a different colour which is sometimes referred to as “bee-purple”. The remaining part of the puzzle is concerned with the colour spectrum of the yellow buzz-pollinated flowers. So far as I know, this has only been measured for one species: Hibbertia
strongly reflect ultraviolet light. Bees do not perceive its petals as yellow,as we do, but as bee-purple. For them, the colour scheme is “super-solanum“. So in the spirit of “Yes Minister”, here is a brave proposal. The yellow buzz-pollinated flowers are not perceived by bees as yellow but as bee-purple and thus as having the super-solanum colour pattern. It’s a brave proposal because it is based on just one measurement.
A good research project perhaps! 24 UPCOMING EVENTS FOR THE KWONGAN FOUNDATION KWONGAN
was on The Ecology of Western Australias’s Arid Zone 22nd July . Contact Barbara Jamieson barbara.jamieson@uwa.edu.au
for 2015 bookings EDITORIAL This edition gives facts about remnant bushland, where to find it and some further avenues of research. There are over 200 flowers out around Kulin this month alone. Enjoy going wildflower hunting this year. The next newsletter will focus on the great research being done to help us understand better our unique and globally significant Biodiversity Hotspot and how to care for it. Offers of articles for the next issue of Kwongan
Matters are requested by end of September 2014. Please contact me: suepr22@yahoo.com or Prof Hans Lambers hans.lambers@uwa.edu.au if you would like to submit an article, small item or photos. cheers
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