Editing Mānuka (section)

== Ecology ==
=== Fire ecology ===

Mānuka is one of the few New Zealand native species which are [[Fire ecology|adapted to fire]], able to respond to fire by opening seed pods and dispursing in recently disturbed ground.<ref name="MeaningTrees">{{cite q|Q118646408|pp=42-47}}</ref>

=== Native bush regeneration ===

Mānuka can quickly colonise areas of disturbed land, and can create environments where other native species can establish more successfully. Because of this, mānuka is often utilised by conservation projects in New Zealand.<ref name="MeaningTrees"/>

=== Pests and diseases ===
The adult mānuka beetle (''[[Pyronota festiva]]'') and its larvae feed on ''Leptospermum scoparium'' in New Zealand.<ref name="Shrublands">{{cite web|title=Shrublands guide |url=http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/environmentwaste/coastalmarine/Documents/shrublandsguide.pdf |website=Auckland Council|access-date=2 May 2016}}</ref> The [[scale insect]], ''[[Eriococcus orariensis]]'', is a sap-sucking insect that feeds on ''L. scoparium''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ayson |first=E. C |date=1955 |title=Manuka blight in Northern Hawkes Bay |journal=Journal of New Zealand Grasslands |volume=17 |pages=49–61 |doi=10.33584/jnzg.1955.17.1046}}</ref>

=== Pollinators ===
Pollinators that visit ''Leptospermum scoparium'' include ''[[Melangyna novaezelandiae]]'', [[Hylaeus (bee)|''Hylaeus'']], and [[Honey bee|honeybees]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Primack |first=Richard B. |date=1983-07-01|title=Insect pollination in the New Zealand mountain flora |journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany|volume=21|issue=3|pages=317–333 |doi=10.1080/0028825X.1983.10428561|bibcode=1983NZJB...21..317P |issn=0028-825X}}</ref>

=== Continued evolution ===

''Leptospermum scoparium'' is in the process of evolutionary differentiation as a result of its isolation from fellow members of the ''[[Leptospermum]]'' genus. New studies demonstrate a loss of lignotubers among populations of ''Leptospermum scoparium'' located in relatively fire-free zones of New Zealand's South Island, while Australian and Tasmanian populations retain their lignotubers along with stronger manifestations of serotiny.<ref name=":0" /> Australian populations of ''Leptospermum scoparium'' are shown to be chemically distinct from their New Zealand counterparts, with significantly higher levels of [[Eucalyptol|cinteole]] and [[Monoterpene|monoterpines]]. Chemotypical variations also exist between different populations within New Zealand, leading some to suggest that ''L. scoparium'' be divided into three subspecies: those with high [[pinene]]s, high [[triketone]]s, and high [[sesquiterpene]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Perry|first1=Nigel B.|last2=Brennan|first2=Nerida J.|last3=Van Klink|first3=John W.|last4=Harris|first4=Warwick|last5=Douglas|first5=Malcolm H.|last6=McGimpsey|first6=Jennifer A.|last7=Smallfield|first7=Bruce M.|last8=Anderson|first8=Rosemary E.|date=April 1997|title=Essential oils from New Zealand manuka and kanuka: Chemotaxonomy of Leptospermum|journal=Phytochemistry|volume=44|issue=8|pages=1485–1494|doi=10.1016/s0031-9422(96)00743-1|bibcode=1997PChem..44.1485P |issn=0031-9422}}</ref> Recently, however, new research suggests that plant-to-plant variation far outstrips the variation seen between geographically isolated manuka sites, at least with regard to nectar chemistry.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Noe |first1=Stevie |last2=Manley-Harris |first2=Merilyn |author-link2=Merilyn Manley-Harris |last3=Clearwater |first3=Michael J. |date=2019-10-02 |title=Floral nectar of wild mānuka (''Leptospermum scoparium'') varies more among plants than among sites |journal=New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=282–296 |doi=10.1080/01140671.2019.1670681 |bibcode=2019NZJCH..47..282N |issn=0114-0671 |s2cid=204143940}}</ref>