Floristics and structure of the mossy cloud forest of Mt Gower summit, Lord Howe Island

Harris, Rebecca J.; Cassis, Gerasimos; Auld, Tony D.; Hutton, I.

doi:10.1071/pc050246

Cited by 6 publications

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“…Both species occur in the unique cloud forests on the island (Harris et al 2005) and changes to moisture regimes (e.g. through a reduction in cloud cover) with a changing climate may limit establishment opportunities in the future.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…O.F. Cook (Arecoideae: Areceae; Dransfield et al 2008) is a small palm (trunks generally up to 3 m) restricted to the cloud forest vegetation (Pickard 1983a;Harris et al 2005;Baker and Hutton 2006) on the 27 Ha summit plateau of Mt Gower (about 700-875 m in elevation). It has also been reported from the very small summit of Mt Lidgbird, but this requires confirmation.…”

Section: Study Species and Habitatmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disruption of recruitment in two endemic palms on Lord Howe Island by invasive rats

Auld¹,

Hutton²,

Ooi

et al. 2010

Biol Invasions

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Invasive species may have negative impacts on many narrow range endemics and species restricted to oceanic islands. Predicting recent impacts of invasive species on long-lived trees is difficult because the presence of adult plants may mask population changes. We examined the impact of introduced black rats (Rattus rattus) on two palm species restricted to cloud forests and endemic to Lord Howe Island, a small oceanic island in the southern Pacific. We combined estimates of the standing size distribution of these palms with the proximal impacts of rats on fruit survival in areas baited to control rats and in unbaited areas. The size distribution of palms with trunks was comparable across baited and unbaited sites. Small juvenile palms lacking a trunk (\50 cm tall) were abundant in baited areas, but rare in unbaited sites for Lepidorrhachis mooreana, and rare or absent in 3 out of 4 unbaited Hedyscepe canterburyana sites. All ripe fruits were lost to rats in the small fruited L. mooreana. Fruitremoval was widespread but less (20-54%) in H. canterburyana. Both palms showed evidence of a reduced capacity to maintain a juvenile bank of palms through regular recruitment as a consequence of over 90 years of rat impact. This will limit the ability of these species to take advantage of episodic canopy gaps. Baiting for rat control reduced fruit losses and resulted in the re-establishment of a juvenile palm bank. Conservation of both endemic palms necessitates control (or eradication) of rat populations on the unique cloud forest summits of the island. Abstract Invasive species may have negative impacts on many narrow range endemics and species restricted to oceanic islands. Predicting recent impacts of invasive species on long-lived trees is difficult because the presence of adult plants may mask population changes. We examined the impact of introduced black rats (Rattus rattus) on two palm species restricted to cloud forests and endemic to Lord Howe Island, a small oceanic island in the southern Pacific. We combined estimates of the standing size distribution of these palms with the proximal impacts of rats on fruit survival in areas baited to control rats and in unbaited areas. The size distribution of palms with trunks was comparable across baited and unbaited sites. Small juvenile palms lacking a trunk (\50 cm tall) were abundant in baited areas, but rare in unbaited sites for Lepidorrhachis mooreana, and rare or absent in 3 out of 4 unbaited Hedyscepe canterburyana sites. All ripe fruits were lost to rats in the small fruited L. mooreana. Fruit removal was widespread but less (20-54%) in H. canterburyana. Both palms showed evidence of a reduced capacity to maintain a juvenile bank of palms through regular recruitment as a consequence of over 90 years of rat impact. This will limit the ability of these species to take advantage of episodic canopy gaps. Baiting for rat control reduced fruit losses and resulted in the re-establishment of a juvenile palm bank. Conservation of both endemic palms necessitates con...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Species and Habitatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disruption of recruitment in two endemic palms on Lord Howe Island by invasive rats

Auld¹,

Hutton²,

Ooi

et al. 2010

Biol Invasions

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“…In all these regions, extensive conservation efforts are in place to minimise impact. The introduction and subsequent impact of P. cinnamomi on native vegetation is seen as one of the major conservation policy issues for biodiversity in Oceania (Kingsford et al 2009), including, for example, the rare endemic mossy cloud forest of Lord Howe Island (Harris et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and diversity of Phytophthora across Australia

Burgess

White

McDougall

et al. 2017

Pac. Conserv. Biol.

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The introduction and subsequent impact of Phytophthora cinnamomi within native vegetation is one of the major conservation issues for biodiversity in Australia. Recently, many new Phytophthora species have been described from Australia's native ecosystems; however, their distribution, origin, and potential impact remain unknown. Historical bias in Phytophthora detection has been towards sites showing symptoms of disease, and traditional isolation methods show variable effectiveness of detecting different Phytophthora species. However, we now have at our disposal new techniques based on the sampling of environmental DNA and metabarcoding through the use of highthroughput sequencing. Here, we report on the diversity and distribution of Phytophthora in Australia using metabarcoding of 640 soil samples and we compare the diversity detected using this technique with that available in curated databases. Phytophthora was detected in 65% of sites, and phylogenetic analysis revealed 68 distinct Phytophthora phylotypes. Of these, 21 were identified as potentially unique taxa and 25 were new detections in natural areas and/or new introductions to Australia. There are 66 Phytophthora taxa listed in Australian databases, 43 of which were also detected in this metabarcoding study. This study revealed high Phytophthora richness within native vegetation and the additional records provide a valuable baseline resource for future studies. Many of the Phytophthora species now uncovered in Australia's native ecosystems are newly described and until more is known we need to be cautious with regard to the spread and conservation management of these new species in Australia's unique ecosystems.

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“…The summits combined support a unique mossy cloud forest that covers an area of less than 35 Ha (above ca. 750 m alt) and is home to many LHI endemics (Pickard 1983;Harris et al 2005;Baker and Hutton 2006;Babik et al 2009). The regular cloud cover has the potential to influence the hydrological regime, radiation balance, physiological processes, and soil properties at the summit (Pounds et al 1999;Harris et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is dominated in the south by two mountain peaks, Mt Gower (875 m) and Mt Lidgbird (777 m). The climate is humid subtropical with Mt Gower and Mt Lidgbird experiencing extensive orographic cloud cover (Green 1994;Harris et al 2005). The island has a rich and diverse vascular flora comprising 241 species of which almost half are endemic (Green 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation genetics and ecology of an endemic montane palm on Lord Howe Island and its potential for resilience

Shapcott

Hutton²,

Baker

et al. 2011

Conserv Genet

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Lepidorrhachis mooreana (Arecaceae) is a monotypic palm genus endemic to the remote Lord Howe Island where it is restricted to a small area of cloud forest above 750 m that is likely to be vulnerable to climate change. We investigated genetic diversity and key demographic parameters to assess the palm's potential long term viability including possible climate change impacts. The palm was found on only one of the island's two mountain summits, where the sampled sites were effectively behaving as one panmictic population. The moderate genetic diversity found indicates some adaptive potential for L. mooreana. The population was effectively inbred. Large numbers of fruit are produced, but successful juvenile recruitment is limited by predation by introduced rats. The relatively large population size increases the potential for selection for adaptation to a changing climate.

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Floristics and structure of the mossy cloud forest of Mt Gower summit, Lord Howe Island

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Disruption of recruitment in two endemic palms on Lord Howe Island by invasive rats

Disruption of recruitment in two endemic palms on Lord Howe Island by invasive rats

Distribution and diversity of Phytophthora across Australia

Conservation genetics and ecology of an endemic montane palm on Lord Howe Island and its potential for resilience

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