The conservation and ecology of the British Virgin Islands endemic tree, Vachellia anegadensis

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  • Sara Bárrios
  • Maria Dufke
  • Martin Hamilton
  • Robyn Cowan
  • Nancy Woodfield-Pascoe
  • Dalsgaard, Bo
  • Julie Hawkins
  • Colin Clubbe

Numerous island species have gone extinct and many extant, but threatened, island endemics require ongoing monitoring of their conservation status. The small tree Vachellia anegadensis was formerly thought to occur only on the limestone island of Anegada in the British Virgin Islands and was categorized as Critically Endangered. However, in 2008 it was discovered on the volcanic island of Fallen Jerusalem, c. 35 km from Anegada, and in 2018 it was recategorized as Endangered. To inform conservation interventions, we examined the species' distribution, genetic population structure, dependency on pollinators and preferred habitat, and documented any threats. We found V. anegadensis to be locally widespread on Anegada but uncommon on Fallen Jerusalem and established that geographical location does not predict genetic differentiation amongst populations. Vachellia anegadensis produces the highest number of seed pods when visited by animal pollinators, in particular Lepidoptera. Introduced animals and disturbance by humans appear to be the main threats to V. anegadensis, and in situ conservation is critical for the species' long-term survival.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftOryx
Vol/bind56
Udgave nummer1
Sider (fra-til)26-33
Antal sider8
ISSN0030-6053
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2022

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
This research was sponsored by the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (project number: 13257818) and the Bentham-Moxon Trust. MD and BD thank the Danish National Research Foundation for its support of the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark (grant number DNRF96). BD thanks Independent Research Fund Denmark (grant no. 0135-00333B). SB thanks Steven Bachman for GIS support and the Director of the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands, Cassander Titley-O'Neal, for useful discussion on conservation issues in the British Virgin Islands. We thank all staff of the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands for facilitating this work.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International.

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