African sunbirds have evolved to hover over plants for nectar.Byline: ANI London, Apr 14 (ANI): Just like American hummingbirds, African sunbirds have also learnt to hover around a flower to collect nectar, and scientists have found that the tree tobacco plant prompts the birds' ability to hang around. Tree tobacco, the South American plant has made its way to South Africa South Africa, Afrikaans Suid-Afrika, officially Republic of South Africa, republic (2005 est. pop. 44,344,000), 471,442 sq mi (1,221,037 sq km), S Africa. , where sunbirds pollinate pol·li·nate also pol·len·ate tr.v. pol·li·nat·ed also pol·len·at·ed, pol·li·nat·ing also pol·len·at·ing, pol·li·nates also pol·len·ates To transfer pollen from an anther to the stigma of (a flower). it. The plant produces yellow, tubular flowers and like other plants with flowers of this shape, it depends on nectar-sipping birds for pollination pollination, transfer of pollen from the male reproductive organ (stamen or staminate cone) to the female reproductive organ (pistil or pistillate cone) of the same or of another flower or cone. . In its native South America South America, fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , tree tobacco is pollinated by hummingbirds, which have evolved the highest metabolism of any animal in order to generate enough energy to hover over flowers for long enough to drink their nectar. However, to the astonishment of evolutionary biologists, there are no hummingbirds outside the Americas. Native Old World plants with tubular flowers usually produce some sort of perch to allow birds to sip their nectar. Sjirk Geerts of Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University (Afrikaans: Universiteit van Stellenbosch) is an internationally recognised university which is situated in the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Other nearby universities are the University of Cape Town and University of the Western Cape. in Matieland, South Africa, noticed native malachite sunbirds hovering around tree tobacco flowers in northeastern South Africa, and decided to investigate. Although the birds were known to hover occasionally before, but it was found that some sunbirds are now getting most of their winter food from tobacco tree flowers. "This is the first time we have observed them making a lifestyle of it," New Scientist magazine quoted Geerts as saying. Earlier, the sunbirds used to migrate out of the region in winter because there was no nectar, but now they stay put. Despite its impact on sunbird-pollinated plants elsewhere, or on sunbird sunbird, common name for tropical, Old World birds, including more than one hundred species in the family Nectariniidae. Like the unrelated New World hummingbirds, to which sunbirds are often compared, sunbirds have long and slender, highly curved bills, tube-shaped numbers is not known, the researchers reckon that tobacco plant is benefiting. The researchers put netting over some tobacco trees, and found that plants pollinated by sunbirds set three times as much seed. The discovery sheds a new light on why hover-feeding evolved in birds in the Americas but not elsewhere. Geerts now wants to find out if sunbirds keep hovering during the summer, when they are expending most of their energy on raising young. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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