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Identifying essential ecological factors underpinning the development of a conservation plan for the endangered Australian tree Alectryon ramiflorus

journal contribution
posted on 2017-12-06, 00:00 authored by Philip BrownPhilip Brown, Kevin Wormington, Peter Brown
Reintroduction of rare and threatened species often fails to yield quantifiable conservation benefits because insufficient attention is focused on the species' habitat requirements and biology. We demonstrate the value of such data in informing a recovery plan for Alectryon ramiflorus S.Reyn. (Sapindaceae), a tree species endemic to a region on the southern coast of Queensland, Australia. When the species was categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List in 1997 the total known population consisted of only 26 adult plants, in five disjunct populations in remnant patches of native vegetation. Analysis of vegetation type, soil chemistry and composition data comparing remnant patches with and without A. ramiflorus revealed that the species is not restricted to a specific soil type but prefers sites with relatively fertile soil and a more complex vegetation structure. The species is cryptically dioecious, displays asynchronous flowering between individuals, and requires insect-vectored pollination. The low rate of seedling production recorded within individual patches was attributed to the scarcity of trees of both genders, asynchronous flowering of individual trees and, in smaller patches, a sparse population of pollinating insect species. Successful reintroduction of A. ramiflorus will require consideration of these aspects of demographic success. The findings highlight the importance to species recovery plans of the knowledge of habitat requirements, interspecific relationships and critical dependencies, as well as species reproductive biology.

History

Volume

49

Issue

3

Start Page

453

End Page

460

Number of Pages

8

eISSN

1365-3008

ISSN

0030-6053

Location

United Kingdom

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Language

en-aus

Peer Reviewed

  • Yes

Open Access

  • No

Era Eligible

  • Yes

Journal

Oryx.