Since it was first formally recorded there in 2005, the Nearctic pine tortoise scale Toumeyella parvicornis (Cockerell) (Hemiptera: Coccidae) has caused severe decline of the Caribbean pine, Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis (Grisebach) W. H. Barrett & Golfari, in the pine forests on the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). The scale infestations reduce host vigor, cause dieback and high levels of mortality. Honeydew excreted by the insects enables the growth of associated sooty molds to smother the under-storey plants inhibiting their growth. Surveys carried out on the islands suggest that the entire Caribbean pine population in the TCI is under immediate threat from this invasive pest, with potentially devastating effects on the pineyard ecosystem. The biology, distribution, impact and economic importance of the pine tortoise scale are reviewed.

Aim: We investigated the phylogeographical history of a clonal-sexual orchid, to test the hypothesis that current patterns of genetic diversity and differentiation retain the traces of climatic fluctuations and of the species reproductive system. Location: Europe, Siberia and Russian Far East.Taxon: Cypripedium calceolus L. (Orchidaceae).Methods: Samples (>900, from 56 locations) were genotyped at 11 nuclear microsatellite loci and plastid sequences were obtained for a subset of them. Analysis of genetic structure and approximate Bayesian computations were performed.Species distribution modelling was used to explore the effects of past climatic fluctuations on the species range. Results: Analysis of genetic diversity reveals high heterozygosity and allele diversity, with no geographical trend. Three genetic clusters are identified with extant gene pools derived from ancestral demes in glacial refugia. Siberian populations exhibit different plastid haplotypes, supporting an early divergence for the Asian gene pool. Demographic results based on genetic data are compatible with an admixture event explaining differentiation in Estonia and Romania and they are consistent with past climatic dynamics inferred through species distribution modelling. Current population differentiation does not follow isolation by distance model and is compatible with a model of isolation by colonization. Main conclusions: The genetic differentiation observed today in C. calceolus preserves the signature of climatic fluctuations in the historical distribution range of the species. Our findings support the central role of clonal reproduction in the reducing loss of diversity through genetic drift. The dynamics of the clonal-sexual reproduction are responsible for the persistence of ancestral variation and stability during glacial periods and post-glacial expansion.

For the first time a comprehensive population genetics study of the endemic Caribbean pine, Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis, in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) is undertaken. Information on inbreeding levels, genetic diversity and spatial structure in the focus taxon are important tools for its future conservation and can help guide local forest management. Plastid (pDNA) and nuclear microsatellite (nDNA) loci were used to reveal past and contemporary patterns of genetic differentiation and levels of genetic diversity and to test the hypothesis of isolation by distance of populations in the Bahamas and TCI regions. Due to its non-recombinant nature, low mutation rates and uniparental inheritance, pDNA can give an insight into an earlier state of the populations than that revealed by nDNA. Data from pDNA showed only 12 haplotypes, with one of them present in c. 81% of individuals, low unbiased genetic diversity (uh < 0.107) and lack of significant variation between regions (FCT = 0.011, P = 0.20); whereas nDNA showed higher unbiased genetic diversity (uHS > 0.487) and significant variation between regions (FCT = 0.156, P < 0.01). Isolation by distance was only significant for nDNA (r 2 = 0.56, P < 0.01). Only two of the populations had significant levels of inbreeding (FIS = 0.090, FIS = 0.113). High levels of gene flow and lack of isolation in the past were revealed by pDNA, whereas nDNA showed a more recent spatial isolation and genetic differentiation between the Bahamas and TCI populations. Conservation measures are discussed in view of the genetic diversity, inbreeding and spatial structure found in the taxon.

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The severe and rapid attack on the Caicos pine Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis (Pinaceae) by the non-native invasive pine tortoise scale, Toumeyella parvicornis , has resulted in the death of most of the trees in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) in just over a decade. Local and international conservation efforts have enabled the necessary multi-disciplinary research, data gathering, and monitoring to develop and implement a restoration strategy for this endemic tree from the Bahaman archipelago. The native plant nursery established on North Caicos and horticultural expertise acquired throughout the years were crucial to the successful rescue of Caicos pine saplings from the wild populations and cultivation of new saplings grown from locally sourced seeds. These saplings have been used to establish six Restoration Trial Plots on Pine Cay and a seed orchard on North Caicos in TCI. Core Conservation Areas (CCAs) for the Caicos pine forests have been identified and mapped. To date, forest within the Pine Cay CCA has been supplemented by planting more than 450 pine trees, which have survived at a high (>80%) rate.

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The global loss of biodiversity is a pressing and urgent issue and halting loss is the focus of many international agreements and targets. However, data on species distribution, threats and protection are limited and sometimes lacking in many parts of the world. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), part of the Puerto Rican Bank Floristic Region in the Caribbean Biodiversity Hotspot, is rich in plant diversity and regional endemism. Despite the established network of National Parks in the BVI and decades of botanical data from international collaboration between the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands, there was a need for consolidated data on species distribution across the archipelago and national lists for threatened and rare plants of conservation concern. The process of identifying the network of 18 Tropical Important Plant Areas (TIPAs) in the BVI, completed in 2018, delivered national lists and accurate data for all 35 Species of Conservation Concern. These data (3688 georeferenced records) are analysed here to reveal species distribution across the archipelago, within the TIPAs network and the National Parks System. The TIPAs network contained all 35 Species of Conservation Concern and 91% of all the records, as expected. Ten out of the 21 National Parks had one or more of the species present. Most species occur across the archipelago, while some are restricted range and/or endemics. These new data will help management of plant conservation efforts and resources in the BVI, contributing to the revision of the Protected Areas System Plan and local environmental policies and have relevance to the wider Caribbean Region.

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