seed is set when pollinators are excluded. Selection against self-pollinated seed has been observed, but the species has nonetheless been shown to have one of the lowest outcrossing rates of any Banksia. This is probably caused by the small population sizes, which increase the probability of self-fertilisation, and may discourage visits by pollinators. It has a low rate of fruiting, with less than 1% of flowers developing into follicles, and more than half of the inflorescences failing to form any follicles at all. Seed survival rates are similarly low. More than half of a plant's seed crop may be lost to the larvae of moths and weevils, which burrow into the cobs to eat the seeds and pupate in the follicles; and further seed losses are caused by granivorous birds such as cockatoos, which break off the cobs to eat both the seeds and the insect larvae. A small proportion of follicles open and release their seed spontaneously, but most remain closed until stimulated to open by bushfire. Bushfire kills the maternal plant, which has neither thick bark nor lignotubers, but the subsequent shedding of seed allows the population to regenerate. Seed predation continues after its release: in one study, B. brownii seeds were placed on the ground in both burnt and unburnt sides; almost all were eaten by parrots within four weeks. Conservation Threats to B. brownii include loss of habitat due to land clearing, commercial exploitation, disease, and changes to the fire regime. The fragmentation of populations is also of concern, as it causes the genetic diversity of the species to decline, potentially reducing vigour. Climate change is also of concern: depending on the severity of change, the range of this species is predicted to contract by 30% to 50% by 2080. Microsatellite markers for assessing population genetic structure were developed for B. brownii in 2009. A subsequent study by these authors, published in 2015, estimated that B. brownii has lost between 35–40% of its historical genetic diversity due to P. cinnamomi dieback. B. brownii has been assessed as having a high risk of extinction, and that this would be "not only a tragedy in itself but may have unforeseen, and potentially disastrous, consequences for the functioning of the vegetation communities of which feather-leaved banksia is an integral part." The species has been formally assessed for the IUCN Red List as "Critically Endangered (CR)"; populations are projected to