Avian pollinators and the pollination syndromes of selected Mountain Fynbos plants

The flowering phenology of Erica and proteaceous plants and the abundance of nectarivorous birds were monitored in Mountain Fynbos in the Jonkershoek State Forest, South Africa. Species tended to flower for short periods in summer at high altitudes, or for longer periods in autumn and winter at low altitudes. Three avian species apparently tracked the flowers occurring at low altitudes during winter and, when present, at high altitudes during summer. Statistical analyses confirmed that the distribution of Promerops cafer is primarily correlated with the abundance of protea flowers, and that of Nectarinia violacea with Erica flowers. The evolution of an unusually high ratio of putative avian pollinators to ornithophilous plant species in Mountain Fynbos is discussed