Reintroductions are important components of conservation and recovery programs for rare plant species, but their long‐term success rates are poorly understood. Previous reviews of plant reintroductions focused on short‐term (e.g., ≤3 years) survival and flowering of founder individuals rather than on benchmarks of intergenerational persistence, such as seedling recruitment. However, short‐term metrics may obscure outcomes because the unique demographic properties of reintroductions, including small size and unstable stage structure, could create lags in population growth. We used time‐to‐event analysis on a database of unusually well‐monitored and long‐term (4–28 years) reintroductions of 27 rare plant species to test whether life‐history traits and population characteristics of reintroductions create time‐lagged responses in seedling recruitment (i.e., recruitment time lags [RTLs]), an important benchmark of success and indicator of persistence in reintroduced populations. Recruitment time lags were highly variable among reintroductions, ranging from <1 to 17 years after installation. Recruitment patterns matched predictions from life‐history theory with short‐lived species (fast species) exhibiting consistently shorter and less variable RTLs than long‐lived species (slow species). Long RTLs occurred in long‐lived herbs, especially in grasslands, whereas short RTLs occurred in short‐lived subtropical woody plants and annual herbs. Across plant life histories, as reproductive adult abundance increased, RTLs decreased. Highly variable RTLs were observed in species with multiple reintroduction events, suggesting local processes are just as important as life‐history strategy in determining reintroduction outcomes. Time lags in restoration outcomes highlight the need to scale success benchmarks in reintroduction monitoring programs with plant life‐history strategies and the unique demographic properties of restored populations. Drawing conclusions on the long‐term success of plant reintroduction programs is premature given that demographic processes in species with slow life‐histories take decades to unfold.
The marine sponge Axinella corrugata is being developed as a model organism for in vitro marine invertebrate research. Molecular genetics methods such as DNA fingerprinting [amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP)] and single-locus DNA sequence analyses were applied to this model to meet the primary objective of identifying positive A. corrugata-specific molecular markers that will aid in verifying cell identity in vitro and distinguish sponge cells from potential microbial contaminants. The extent of intra-and interspecific variation in these markers from geographically distinct samples of A. corrugata and closely related sponge taxa was also assessed. Two novel nuclear loci along with intervening transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of nuclear rRNA were characterized, although the latter appeared to better meet primary marker criteria, such as taxonomic specificity and high frequency of detection ( Establishment of marine invertebrate cell cultures and the characterization of their genomes are at an early stage of development. To meet supply demands for development of marine natural products, efforts to establish in vitro production using model sponges have been initiated ( Ilan et
In this report, real-time quantitative PCR (TaqMan qPCR) of the small subunit (SSU) 16S-like rRNA molecule, a universal phylogenetic marker, was used to quantify the relative abundance of individual bacterial members of a diverse, yet mostly unculturable, microbial community from a marine sponge. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of bacterial communities derived from Caribbean Lithistid sponges have shown a wide diversity of microbes that included at least six major subdivisions; however, very little overlap was observed between the culturable and unculturable microbial communities. Based on sequence data of three culture-independent Lithistid-derived representative bacteria, we designed probe/primer sets for TaqMan qPCR to quantitatively characterize selected microbial residents in a Lithistid sponge, Vetulina, metagenome. TaqMan assays included specificity testing, DNA limit of detection analysis, and quantification of specific microbial rRNA sequences such as Nitrospira-like microbes and Actinobacteria up to 172 million copies per microgram per Lithistid sponge metagenome. By contrast, qPCR amplification with probes designed for common previously cultured sponge-associated bacteria in the genera Rheinheimera and Marinomonas and a representative of the CFB group resulted in only minimal detection of the Rheiheimera in total DNA extracted from the sponge. These data verify that a large portion of the microbial community within Lithistid sponges may consist of currently unculturable microorganisms.
Species previously unknown to science are continually discovered and some of these species already face extinction at the time of their discovery. Conserving new and rare species in these cases becomes a trial-and-error process and conservationists will attempt to manage them by using knowledge of closely related species, or those that fill the same ecological niche, and then adapting the management program as needed. Savannas Mint (Dicerandra immaculata Lakela var. savannarum Huck) is a perennial plant that was discovered in Florida scrub habitat at two locations in 1995, but is nearly extinct at these locations. We tested whether shade, leaf litter, propagation method, parent genotype, parent collection site, planting date, and absorbent granules influenced survival, reproduction, and recruitment of Savannas Mint in a population of 1,614 plants that we introduced between June 2006 and July 2009 into a state protected site. Survival and reproduction of introduced plants, and recruitment of new plants, was higher in microhabitats in full sun and no leaf litter and lower in partially shaded habitats. The two sites from which parent plants were collected differentially influenced survival and reproduction of introduced plants. These differences in survival and reproduction are likely due to underlying genetic differences. Differential survival of progeny from different parent genotypes further supports the idea that underlying genetics is an important consideration when restoring plant populations. The most successful progeny of parent genotypes had survival rates nearly 12 times higher than the least successful progeny. We speculate that many of these environmental and genetic factors are likely to influence allopatric congeners and other critically endangered gap specialists that grow in Florida scrub and our results can be used to guide their conservation.
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