LAUSR

Abstract Habitat fragmentation – in terms of a combination of habitat loss and separation – is a major threat to the renosterveld of the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) of which 85% has been transformed, mostly for agriculture. The effects thereof has not been well studied, in particular in the Eastern inland areas. In this study we seek to understand how habitat patch size influence visitation rate of pollinators of winter flowering plants in the Eastern-Ruens Shale Renosterveld of the Overberg region. We compared pollinator visitation rates to flowers of Relhania garnotii, Clutia sp. nov and Oxalis purpurea between small (0–4.9 ha) and medium (5–15 ha) sized fragments, and compared these to the last large intact protected area, the Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Reserve (>500 ha), termed mainland. We classified degree of isolation among fragments into high (>100 m) and low (