Current perspectives in plant conservation biology

Coates, David; Dixon, Kingsley W.

doi:10.1071/bt07037

Cited by 46 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…Swartz and Dixon (2009) pointed out that "although a significant literature exists on the many causes of rarity in plants, drives of rarity in orchids are more often than not linked to their habitats and pollinator requirement…Extrinsic rarity in orchids is a reflection of anthropogenic processes directly limiting or reducing the distribution and abundance of species…". Fragmentation of habitats, removal of key species critical to the functional sustainability of ecosystems, increased susceptibility to fire threats, pollinator decline and introduction of feral animals are also documented to result in drastic losses in orchid population and diversity (Sosa & Platas, 1998;Coates & Dixon, 2007;Bidartondo & Read, 2008). Roberts (2003) suggested that orchids are naturally pollinator-limited within a season but resource-limited over their lifetime.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollination Syndromes in Mediterranean Orchids—Implications for Speciation, Taxonomy and Conservation

2010

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The Mediterranean flora is spectacularly rich in orchid species that have evolved remarkable adaptations to their environment. Orchids have complex and delicate interactions with their pollinators, which makes them particularly prone to local extinction. Conservation actions should be encouraged for a range of endangered Mediterranean orchid species, but the current taxonomic confusion in several genera and the apparent disagreement among orchid taxonomists make the situation particularly confusing from a conservation perspective. In this review, we document how the different pollination syndromes of Mediterranean orchids (nectar reward, shelter offering, food deception and sexual deception) can have a profound impact on the type of reproductive barriers among species, on floral phenotypic variation as we perceive it, on potentially related processes of species sorting and extinction and, consequently, should have a strong influence on the related conservation management programs. We also highlight that the majority of Mediterranean orchids are pollinated by specialised bees often occupying otherwise narrow ecological niches (e.g. pollen specialisation, brood cell parasites, specific nesting site). This condition makes the orchid-pollinator interactions very fragile and several orchid species prone to local extinction. We illustrate this phenomenon by a selection of case studies that show how the adequate integration of the ecological requirements/traits of the orchids and their associated pollinators into conservation actions could help protect endangered species and ensure the sustainability of the often complex local pollination web.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollination Syndromes in Mediterranean Orchids—Implications for Speciation, Taxonomy and Conservation

2010

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“…The palm has undergone a significant and well-documented decline in its natural populations in Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen (Welch and Welch 1998;Ford and Bealy 2004;Ford et al 2008) and a re-evaluation of the species conservation status is necessary. Coates and Dixon (2007) advocate that plant conservation biology be an integration of population biology using genetics and demography to make conservation decisions to inform ex situ conservation. Studies have shown that genetic variation and fitness in plants both increase with increasing population size (Leimu et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low genetic diversity and recovery implications of the vulnerable Bankoualé Palm Livistona carinensis (Arecaceae), from North-eastern Africa and the Southern Arabian Peninsula

2008

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The Bankoualé Palm, Livistona carinensis is the only known species of Livistona occurring in Africa and is currently classified as vulnerable (IUCN 2004). This extreme outlier species of the genus is restricted to Yemen, Somalia and Djibouti, where all populations are in rapid decline. In Djibouti the palm is confined to three valley systems within the upland plateau of the Goda Massif. This study used microsatellite markers to investigate the genetic diversity and relationships within the species. At the species level L. carinensis contained very low genetic diversity. Most variation was due to the variation between the samples from Yemen and Somalia compared with those in Djibouti. The Djibouti populations were almost monomorphic across the nine loci tested. Interestingly, and despite the small sample sizes, the individuals from botanic gardens collections of the Yemen and Somalia populations were more genetically diverse than the Djibouti populations. This study indicates that the populations in Yemen and Somalia are highly significant for the conservation of the species genetic diversity. Given the lack of genetic diversity both within and among L. carinensis populations in Djibouti, plants could be cultivated for in-situ population enhancement from any seed that is available from within Djibouti with no significant genetic impacts of provenance mismatch. Clearly the populations from Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen are different genetic provenances raising some issues for the conservation and recovery of L. carinensis.

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“…Together with population trends and genetical aspects, knowledge on particular life forms, adaptive morphology as well as ecophysiology of particular endangered plant species is proven to be critical in understanding the major affecting environmental factors and conservation perspectives in a light of human impact and climate change (Heywood and Iriondo 2003;Coates and Dixon 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of nondestructive methods to assess a physiological status and conservation perspectives of Eryngium maritimum L.

et al. 2010

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Eryngium maritimum is a perennial species growing exclusively in a coastal littoral zone both on sand dunes and shingle beach and indicated as declining in Northern Europe. The objective of the present study was to prove the use of nondestructive physiological measurement methods to access physiological status of endangered plants, using E. maritimum as a model species. Plants from two Latvian sites were studied in comparison with other populations in Northern Europe (Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, United Kingdom) to find out if local differences in environmental factors affect vitality of E. maritimum individuals. Noninvasive chlorophyll analysis and chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements were used as indicators of plant physiological status through characterization of various aspects of photochemistry of photosystem II activity. Dynamics and morphology of individuals were investigated for evaluation of clonal growth potential of E. maritimum in natural conditions. Highly fluctuating trend of dynamics of individuals (within 40 groups at two Latvian sites) was established for E. maritimum in natural conditions over a five-year period. Disturbance of individuals lead to formation of new shoots from nodal root meristems. An exponential regression between fluorescence parameters F V /F M and Performance Index and summary monthly precipitation was found indicating that E. maritimum plants had significant tolerance to water shortage together with susceptibility to increased precipitation. Negative correlation between leaf chlorophyll content and more northern localization of individuals was found (r =0.95 and r = 0.94, for generative and vegetative shoots, respectively). Northern populations of E. maritimum are endangered by high precipitation in conditions of low air temperature, leading to decrease of photosynthetic productivity and overall physiological status. High developmental plasticity at the root level leads to clonal growth and an efficient survival and relatively long life span of E. maritimum individuals. Chlorophyll a fluorescence is a useful method to search for the effect of suboptimal conditions on physiological status of endangered plant species without elimination and disturbance of individuals.

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Current perspectives in plant conservation biology

Cited by 46 publications

References 29 publications

Pollination Syndromes in Mediterranean Orchids—Implications for Speciation, Taxonomy and Conservation

Pollination Syndromes in Mediterranean Orchids—Implications for Speciation, Taxonomy and Conservation

Low genetic diversity and recovery implications of the vulnerable Bankoualé Palm Livistona carinensis (Arecaceae), from North-eastern Africa and the Southern Arabian Peninsula

The use of nondestructive methods to assess a physiological status and conservation perspectives of Eryngium maritimum L.

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