A conservation framework for the Critically Endangered endemic species of the Caribbean palm Coccothrinax

Page created by Gilbert Dawson
 
CONTINUE READING
A conservation framework for the Critically Endangered endemic species of the Caribbean palm Coccothrinax
A conservation framework for the Critically
                Endangered endemic species of the Caribbean palm
                Coccothrinax
                                BRETT JESTROW, BRÍGIDO PEGUERO, FRANCISCO JIMÉNEZ, RAÚL VERDECIA
                LISBET         GONZÁLEZ-OLIVA, CELIO E. MOYA, WILLIAM CINEA, M. PATRICK GRIFFITH
                                     A L A N W . M E E R O W , M I K E M A U N D E R and J A V I E R F R A N C I S C O - O R T E G A

                Abstract With  threatened species ( categorized as                                 plant exploration initiatives, taxonomic revisions, outreach,
                Critically Endangered and  as Endangered, sensu IUCN),                               and fundraising. The ultimate aim of this review is to provide
                Coccothrinax (c.  species) is the flagship palm genus for                            baseline information that will develop conservation synergy
                conservation in the Caribbean Island Biodiversity Hotspot.                             among relevant parties working on Coccothrinax conserva-
                Coccothrinax has its centre of taxonomic diversity in these                            tion in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Such colla-
                islands, with c.  endemic species. We present a conservation                         borations could also benefit through partnerships with
                framework for the  Critically Endangered species, found                              botanists working in other countries.
                in Cuba, Haiti or the Dominican Republic. Only two species
                                                                                                       Keywords Antilles, Arecaceae, IUCN, plant biodiversity,
                (C. jimenezii, C. montana) occur in more than one country
                                                                                                       red lists, taxonomy, tropical islands
                (Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Immediate threats
                include oil drilling and nickel mining, intrusion of saline
                water into soil, urban and agricultural development, low
                population recruitment, uncontrolled fires, interspecific hy-                          Introduction
                bridization, and unsustainable ethnobotanical practices.
                Coccothrinax bermudezii, C. borhidiana, C. crinita ssp. crini-
                ta, C. leonis and C. spissa are not conserved in protected areas.
                Coccothrinax bermudezii, C. jimenezii, C. leonis and C. nipen-
                                                                                                       P    alms are an iconic feature of the Caribbean landscape
                                                                                                            and are associated with strong folk and ethnobotani-
                                                                                                       cal traditions (Liogier, ; Leiva Sánchez, ). The
                sis are not part of ex situ collections. Based on results from a                       Caribbean Islands hold  endemic species of palms, with
                conservation project targeting C. jimenezii, we recommend                              Cuba () and Hispaniola () hosting the majority (Moya
                international cooperation between the three range states to                            & Leiva Sánchez, ; Roncal et al., ; Freid et al., ).
                implement integrative conservation management plans,                                   The islands have two endemic palm genera: Hemithrinax
                                                                                                       (four species) from Cuba and the monotypic Zombia from
                                                                                                       Hispaniola. The most widespread genera with endemic spe-
                                                                                                       cies can be divided into two major groups. The first group
                BRETT JESTROW Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, USA
                                                                                                       (c.  endemic species in  genera) has few species in the
                BRÍGIDO PEGUERO and FRANCISCO JIMÉNEZ Jardín Botánico Nacional, Santo
                Domingo, Dominican Republic
                                                                                                       Caribbean Islands but many taxa from the Neotropical
                                                                                                       mainland. The second group comprises genera with their
                RAÚL VERDECIA Jardín Botánico Cupaynicú, Guisa, Granma, Cuba
                                                                                                       centre of diversity in these islands (c.  species in six gen-
                LISBET GONZÁLEZ-OLIVA Herbario Nacional de Cuba, Instituto de Ecología y
                Sistemática, La Habana, Cuba                                                           era: Coccothrinax, Copernicia, Gaussia, Pseudophoenix,
                CELIO E. MOYA Sociedad Cubana de Botánica, Sección de Palmas, Boynton
                                                                                                       Roystonea and Thrinax) and with few species occurring
                Beach, Florida, USA                                                                    on the mainland (Zona et al., ; Roncal et al., ).
                WILLIAM CINEA Jardin Botanique des Cayes, Cayes, Haiti                                 Among them, Coccothrinax is the genus with the highest
                M. PATRICK GRIFFITH Montgomery Botanical Center, Coral Gables, Miami, USA
                                                                                                       number of species in the Caribbean Islands.
                                                                                                           Coccothrinax is regarded as being taxonomically difficult
                ALAN W. MEEROW United States Department of Agriculture−Agricultural
                Research Service−Subtropical Horticultural Research Station, National                  and in need of further systematic revision (Zona, ). Two
                Germplasm Repository, Miami, USA                                                       prior taxonomic revisions focused on species from Cuba
                MIKE MAUNDER The Eden Project, Bodelva, Cornwall, UK, and National Tropical            (León, ) and the southern Greater Antilles (Bailey,
                Botanical Garden, Hawaii, USA                                                          ). Prior to these two works, Burret () provided a
                JAVIER FRANCISCO-ORTEGA* (Corresponding author) Department of Biological               taxonomic account of the taxa on Cuba and Hispaniola.
                Sciences, International Center for Tropical Botany, Kimberly Green Latin
                American and Caribbean Center, Cuban Research Institute, Florida
                                                                                                       However, Burret’s () publication was based solely on
                International University, Miami, USA. E-mail ortegaj@fiu.edu                           material collected by the Swedish botanist and plant collect-
                *Also at: Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, USA                                or Leonard Ekman (–). In the s the Hungarian
                Received  December . Revision requested  January .                         botanist A. Borhidi (–) and the Caribbean botanist
                Accepted  April . First published online  September .                      O. Muñiz (–) described new species for Cuba,

                                                                                           Oryx, 2018, 52(3), 452–463 © 2017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317000588
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 46.4.80.155, on 30 Nov 2021 at 02:30:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000588
A conservation framework for the Critically Endangered endemic species of the Caribbean palm Coccothrinax
Conservation framework for Coccothrinax                       453

              resulting in a palm catalogue for the island (Muñiz &                                  Islands, covering () relationships between taxonomy and
              Borhidi, ). Additional attempts were made to clarify                               conservation, () integrative species conservation manage-
              the taxonomy of Coccothrinax (Nauman & Sanders, a,                                 ment, () in situ and ex situ conservation, () plant ex-
              b), based on phylogenetic analyses of morphological traits                             ploration, () the role of DNA data in understanding
              mostly observed from cultivated plants.                                                phylogenetic relationships and patterns of genetic diversity,
                  The current taxonomic uncertainties within this genus                              and () outreach and environmental education.
              arise, in part, from the work of Henderson et al. (),                                  Based on our own conservation initiatives we assert that
              whose influential field guide for New World palms recog-                               international collaboration within the region provides the
              nized only  species. Nevertheless, most palm taxonomists                             best possible approach to deal with these six issues. Similar
              and botanists working on the Caribbean Islands (e.g. Moya                              conservation challenges are faced by other threatened ende-
              & Leiva Sánchez, ; Acevedo-Rodríguez & Strong, ;                               mics of the Caribbean Islands (reviewed by Maunder et al.,
              Greuter & Rankin, ) do not follow that narrow taxo-                                , , and Carey et al., ), and we propose that con-
              nomic view and still recognize many species that were                                  servation initiatives centred on Coccothrinax could be ap-
              synonymized by Henderson et al. (). For instance,                                  plied effectively to other taxa. A main goal of this review is
              C. jamaicensis and C. proctorii are currently regarded as dis-                         to provide a framework for land managers, conservationists,
              tinct species endemic to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands,                               palm biologists and environmental educators that will offer a
              respectively (Proctor, ; Duno de Stefano & Moya,                                   regional perspective for what we consider the flagship palm
              ). Likewise, botanists from Cuba and Hispaniola still ac-                          genus for conservation in the Caribbean Islands. This is par-
              cept Coccothrinax species that Henderson et al. () syno-                           ticularly relevant as this Biodiversity Hotspot comprises sev-
              nomized (e.g. González-Oliva et al., , ; Peguero                               eral countries with a range of historical and sociological
              et al., b; Verdecia, ).                                                        backgrounds (Maunder et al., , ).
                  The current available taxonomic framework for                                          Data collection pertinent to ex situ conservation of
              Coccothrinax is not the result of a single monographic en-                             these threatened species in botanic gardens, as well as
              deavour, and therefore as a working taxonomy for our con-                              literature reviews, were conducted during January –
              tribution we follow the classification system currently                                March . Field observations were conducted during
              accepted by most palm biologists and plant taxonomists                                 –.
              working in the region (Fig. ). Therefore, we consider that
              the genus has  species, with  of these endemic to the                              Ecology, biology, and conservation biology of the
              Caribbean Islands (Fig. ). These island endemics are re-                              Critically Endangered species of Coccothrinax
              stricted to the Bahamas and the Greater Antilles (except
              Puerto Rico). The taxonomic placement of C. alta, thought                              Red List assessments of Coccothrinax species
              to be endemic to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
              (Acevedo-Rodríguez & Strong, ), needs further study.                               Zona et al. () assessed the conservation status of species
              In this review, C. alta is considered a synonym of C. barba-                           of Coccothrinax of the Caribbean Islands using the IUCN
              densis following the recent treatment of Acevedo-Rodríguez                             Red List categories and criteria (IUCN, , ). Other
              & Strong ().                                                                       Red List assessments have targeted Coccothrinax and other
                  Two Caribbean species (C. argentata and C. barbadensis)                            endemic plant species of the Cayman Islands (Burton,
              are found both on the islands and on the mainland, and only                            ), Cuba (Rankin Rodríguez & Areces Berazaín, ;
              one species (C. readii) is restricted to the mainland (Fig. ).                        Berazaín Iturralde et al., ; González-Oliva et al., ,
              The vast majority of Caribbean Island endemic species are                              ; González-Torres et al., ) and Hispaniola (Peguero
              single-island endemics, with the exception of C. fragrans                              & Jiménez, ; Peguero et al., b). Of the  species of
              (found on Hispaniola and Cuba). Reports of the presence                                Coccothrinax endemic to the Caribbean Islands,  are cate-
              of C. jamaicensis on the small islands of Providencia,                                 gorized as Endangered and  as Critically Endangered, with
              Colombia (Galeano-Garces, ), and Swan, Honduras                                     of the latter restricted to Cuba (Fig. ).
              (Nelson & Proctor, ), need to be validated by additional                              The Cuban endemic C. camagueyana was originally
              taxonomic studies. For intraspecific taxa, C. alexandri,                               described by Muñiz & Borhidi (), and is reported
              C. clarensis, C. crinita and C. salvatoris have one subspecies                         from the south of Sierra de Cubitas, Camagüey province
              each, and C. miraguama has three subspecies.                                           (Méndez Santos et al., ). It was categorized as
                  Given its high number of species, many with restricted                             Critically Endangered by Zona et al. (); however, its
              ranges in the Caribbean Islands, Coccothrinax provides a                               taxonomic status is unclear, and more recently it was cate-
              good case to study regional species conservation issues in                             gorized as Data Deficient (González-Oliva et al., ). Field
              the Caribbean. We provide a review of conservation chal-                               exploration led by CM in  failed to find this species in
              lenges and perspectives for the  Critically Endangered spe-                          the location from which it was originally reported (Moya
              cies of Coccothrinax that are restricted to the Caribbean                              et al., a).

              Oryx, 2018, 52(3), 452–463 © 2017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317000588
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 46.4.80.155, on 30 Nov 2021 at 02:30:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000588
454         B. Jestrow et al.

                                                                                                                              FIG. 1 Geographical distribution and Red List
                                                                                                                              status of Coccothrinax species: (a) Caribbean
                                                                                                                              Island endemics; (b) species found both on
                                                                                                                              the Neotropical mainland and on the islands.
                                                                                                                              Red List categorizations (LC, Least Concern;
                                                                                                                              VU, Vulnerable; EN, Endangered; CR,
                                                                                                                              Critically Endangered; DD, Data Deficient)
                                                                                                                              follow the IUCN (, ) guidelines and
                                                                                                                              come from Zona et al. (), Burton (),
                                                                                                                              González-Oliva et al. (, ) and
                                                                                                                              Peguero et al. (b). Taxonomy and
                                                                                                                              geographical distribution follow Moya &
                                                                                                                              Leiva Sánchez (), Hoyos Fernández &
                                                                                                                              Braun (), Acevedo-Rodríguez & Strong
                                                                                                                              (), Proctor (), Duno de Stefano &
                                                                                                                              Moya (), Freid et al. (), Peguero et al.
                                                                                                                              (a,b), Verdecia (), Greuter & Rankin
                                                                                                                              (), Moya et al. (b) and Jestrow
                                                                                                                              (unpubl. data).

                   All of the Critically Endangered species have been as-                                 Among the inland species, the Hispaniolan endemic
                signed to this category based on the criteria Bab or Bab                             C. montana occurs at the highest elevations, to , m;
                (IUCN, , ; Table ); i.e. they have an extent of occur-                        it was described from the Cordillera Central in the
                rence ,  km or an area of occupancy ,  km. They                                 Dominican Republic and the Massif de la Selle in Haiti
                are restricted to a single locality or to a fragmented site.                           (Burret, ). However, its distribution is poorly under-
                In addition, they show continuing decline in their extent                              stood, with populations reported from three disjunct sites
                of occurrence, area of occupancy, habitat quality, number                              in the Dominican Republic (Cordillera Septentrional,
                of sites, or number of mature individuals (IUCN, ,                                 Cordillera Central, and Sierra de Bahoruco) and two sites
                ). Eight of these species are shown in Plates  and .                             in southern Haiti (Massif de la Hotte and Massif de la
                                                                                                       Selle) (Burret, ; Judd, ; B. Peguero, unpubl. data).
                                                                                                       We have no recent data on population size and distribution
                Ecology, distribution and demography                                                   ranges for C. montana except from the Massif de la Hotte,
                                                                                                       where there are two populations of fewer than seven indivi-
                Of the  Critically Endangered species of Coccothrinax,                               duals each (B. Jestrow, unpubl. data), and from Bahoruco,
                most occur on limestone soils, with six Cuban taxa (five spe-                          where a single population with very few individuals is
                cies and one subspecies) occurring on serpentine soils                                 known to exist. Fieldwork is needed to determine the taxo-
                (Table ). Only five species occur in coastal environments                             nomic and distribution status of this species both in Haiti
                (Table ). One of the two populations of C. jimenezii occurs                           and the Dominican Republic. Reports of the Hispaniola en-
                on the fringes of Lago Enriquillo in the Dominican                                     demic C. spissa in northern Haiti (Bailey, ) need to be
                Republic, a hypersaline lake  m below sea level, which is                            confirmed (Henderson et al., ).
                currently expanding (Romero Luna & Poteau, ), and                                     We have population estimates for only five of the 
                where the wild populations are threatened by saline intru-                             Critically Endangered species of Coccothrinax (Table ).
                sions (Peguero et al., a).                                                         Coccothrinax cupularis, C. leonis, C. nipensis and

                                                                                           Oryx, 2018, 52(3), 452–463 © 2017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317000588
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 46.4.80.155, on 30 Nov 2021 at 02:30:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000588
Conservation framework for Coccothrinax                       455

                                                                                                     Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, ) and will be a
                                                                                                     major concern for in situ conservation of threatened
                                                                                                     Coccothrinax species. Tourism is an important economic
                                                                                                     activity in the Greater Antilles (Gayle & Goodrich, ),
                                                                                                     and is a growing industry particularly in Cuba (Hingtgen
                                                                                                     et al., ), where the sector is likely to undergo significant
                                                                                                     development following the easing of U.S. embargo restric-
                                                                                                     tions and the establishment of formal diplomatic relation-
                                                                                                     ships in July  (Hershberg & LeoGrande, ). This
                                                                                                     may result in an intensification of human pressure on
                                                                                                     Cuban ecosystems, with a potential negative impact on en-
                                                                                                     demic palms (González-Torres et al., ).
                                                                                                         Five of the Critically Endangered taxa are not recorded
              FIG. 2 Distribution of the  Critically Endangered species of                         from protected areas (Table ), and those found within pro-
              Coccothrinax. (a) Cuban taxa; the three sites for C. cupularis                         tected areas of the Dominican Republic are also of major
              represent the distribution range of the highly fragmented                              conservation concern. From our field observations it ap-
              population of this species. (b) Hispaniolan taxa.                                      pears that most of these protected areas (with the exception
                                                                                                     of Parque Nacional Nalga de Maco and Reserva Científica
              C. pauciramosa each have a single but dispersed population                             Quita Espuela) have poor conservation enforcement
              comprising scattered individuals; fieldwork is required to                             (Powell & Inchaustegui, ; Pasachnik et al., ).
              confirm their distribution range, population sizes and                                     Eleven of the Critically Endangered taxa are cultivated in
              demographic status.                                                                    botanic gardens (Table ). These collections are located
                 Population recruitment has been recorded for six taxa                               in Cuba (five botanic gardens), the Dominican Republic
              (Table ). Based on preliminary field observations, both C.                            (one), Spain (one), and USA (two) and they are based
              yuraguana and C. pauciramosa also appear to have recruit-                              on wild collected germplasm. Four of the Critically
              ment in their single locations. Coccothrinax jimenezii has                             Endangered species of Coccothrinax are not held in ex situ
              low levels of recruitment, with seedlings found only in the                            conservation collections (Table ).
              Dominican Republic population (Peguero et al., a).
              There are no population size estimates for eight species.
                                                                                                     Conservation biology research

              Conservation challenges                                                                Only four taxa have been the focus of conservation research
                                                                                                     that included population size studies, ethnobotanical sur-
              Our review identified six major threats (Table ). Two of                              veys, ecological studies or seed germination protocols
              these threats (population decline; urban, agricultural and                             (Table ). Coccothrinax jimenezii is the only Critically
              forest development) affect  of the Critically Endangered                             Endangered species that has been the subject of conserva-
              species. Threats from invasive alien plant species, unsustain-                         tion genetics studies (Jestrow et al., a). This work was
              able ethnobotanical exploitation, and uncontrolled fires are                           based on microsatellite markers and included the two
              relevant to seven taxa. Poaching for the horticulture trade                            known populations of the species, with the majority of indi-
              has been reported only for C. victorinii. Four species are at                          viduals being sampled. Levels of genetic differentiation be-
              risk because of nickel mining or oil drilling. One species                             tween the two populations of C. jimenezii are unusually high
              (C. crinita) has been detected to hybridize with at least                              compared to those reported among populations of other
              another species of the genus, and one is facing the threat                             palm species. This suggests that species delimitation within
              of saline intrusion in soils. Based on our experience in                               Coccothrinax needs to be re-evaluated, and a clear taxonom-
              botanic gardens, interspecific hybrids are produced easily                             ic framework for conservation initiatives is needed. Despite
              in Coccothrinax. These threats are likely to intensify in the                          their small size, both populations of C. jimenezii have a
              near future; for example, nickel mining and oil drilling are                           relatively large number of unique alleles and there is no
              major development priorities for the Cuban economy                                     evidence of genetic bottlenecks. Only the population in
              (Wacaster et al., ). Furthermore, invasive alien plant                             Haiti exhibits evidence of inbreeding, with a moderately
              species are regarded as a major challenge for plant bio-                               high positive inbreeding coefficient value (Fis = . vs
              diversity management in the Caribbean (Maunder et al.,                                 Fis = . for the Dominican Republic population).
              , ; reviewed for Cuba by Oviedo Prieto &                                       Recent habitat fragmentation coupled with long generation
              González-Oliva, , and González-Torres et al., ; re-                            times could explain the unusually high levels of genetic di-
              viewed for the Dominican Republic by Ministerio de                                     versity in these Caribbean species (Jestrow et al., a).

              Oryx, 2018, 52(3), 452–463 © 2017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317000588
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 46.4.80.155, on 30 Nov 2021 at 02:30:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000588
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000588
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 46.4.80.155, on 30 Nov 2021 at 02:30:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   456
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   B. Jestrow et al.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    TABLE 1 Red List assessment criteria (sensu IUCN, , ), ecology, number of populations, demographics, and the in situ and ex situ conservation status of the  Critically Endangered
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    species of Coccothrinax.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      IUCN criteria for
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Critically Endangered                                                           No. of populations/                                              Ex situ conservation1
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Taxon             status                          Ecology                                         No. of individuals    In situ conservation                       (No. of individuals)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. baracoensis    B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)+2ab(i,         Scrub on serpentine, 10–200 m (Cuba)2           1/Unknown2            Cuchillas de Toa UNESCO Man & the          JBT3
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      ii,iii,v)2                                                                                            Biosphere Reserve
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. bermudezii     B1ab(ii,iii,v)+2ab(ii,          Scrub & pine forest on serpentine, 500–700 m    14/, 10,0002          Unprotected                                Unprotected
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      iii,v)2                         (Cuba)2
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. borhidiana     A4ace;B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,         Coastal scrub on limestone, 15–20 m (Cuba)6     14,5/3386,7           Unprotected                                FTBG (4), JBM (7),
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)6
                                                                                                                                                                                                      Oryx, 2018, 52(3), 452–463 © 2017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317000588

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       JBN-C (3), JBT(15), MBC
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       (25), PSCT (15)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. boschiana      A4acd;Blab(i,ii,iii,iv,         Coastal scrub on limestone, 5–200 m             15/Unknown9           Parque Nacional Sierra Martín García       FTBG (5)3, JBN-DR (6),
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      v)8                             (Dominican Republic)9                                                                                            MBC3, PSCT (11)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. crinita ssp.   B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)2             Scrub on serpentine & human-modified sa-        15/c. 5002,10         Unprotected                                JBC (9), JBI (11), JBN-C
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       crinita                                        vannah, 20–40 m (Cuba)10                                                                                         (70), JBT (20)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. crinita ssp.   A2acde;B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)         Semi-deciduous forest & human-modified          14/1762               Área Protegida de Recursos Manejados       JBI (8), JBT (5)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       brevicrinis    +2ab(i,ii,iii,v);C12            savannah on limestone, 300 m (Cuba)11                                 Yaguanabo
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. cupularis      B2ab(ii,iii,v)2                 Coastal, sub-coastal scrub & evergreen forest   14,5/Unknown2         Área Protegida de Recursos Manejados       JBN-C (11), JBI (7), JBT
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      on limestone, 5–15 m (Cuba)2                                          Península de Zapata & Paisaje Natural      (4)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Protegido Guajimico
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. jimenezii      A2abcd+4abcd;B1ab               Scrub on limestone fringe of hypersaline lake, 15/6112                Dominican Republic: Parque Nacional Lago   Unprotected
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      (i,ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,   & coastal scrub on limestone, 45 m (below sea                         Enriquillo e Isla Cabritos
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      iv,v);C2a(i)8                   level, Dominican Republic), 70–80 m (Haiti)12
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. leonis         B2ab(ii,iii,v)2                 Scrub & human-modified savannah on lime- 14/Unknown2                  Unprotected                                Unprotected
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      stone, 100–600 m (Cuba)2
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000588
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 46.4.80.155, on 30 Nov 2021 at 02:30:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.
                                                                                                                                                                                                      Oryx, 2018, 52(3), 452–463 © 2017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317000588

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Table 1 (Cont.)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Taxon              IUCN criteria for
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Critically Endangered                                                           No. of populations/                                                          Ex situ conservation1
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       status                       Ecology                                            No. of individuals       In situ conservation                                (No. of individuals)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. montana         B2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v);C1       Montane evergreen forest, cloud forest, & pine 54/Unknown                   Haiti: Parc National Pic Macaya, Parc               PSCT (2)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       +2a(i)8                      forest on limestone, 500–1700 m (Haiti &                                    National Morne la Visite; Dominican
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Dominican Republic)13,14                                                    Republic: Reserva Científica Quita Espuela,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Parque Nacional Nalga de Maco
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. nipensis        B1ab(ii,iii,v)+2ab(ii,       Scrub & pine forest on serpentine, 400–600 m 14/Unknown2                    Parque Nacional La Mensura–Pilotos                  Unprotected
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       iii,v)2                      (Cuba)2
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. pauciramosa     B2ab(ii,iii,v)2              Scrub & pine forest on serpentine, 400–900 m 14/Unknown2                    Parque Nacional La Mensura–Pilotos                  FTBG (4), JBT (5), PSCT
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    (Cuba)2                                                                                                                         (2)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. spissa          A2ace+4ace;B1ab(i,ii,        Scrub on limestone, 20–600 m (Dominican      34,5/4,500                     Unprotected                                         JBN-DR (9), MBC (28),
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              15,16
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       iii,iv,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,   Republic)                                                                                                                       PSCT (9)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       v)8
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. victorinii      A2c;B1ab(ii,iii,v)+2ab       Coastal scrub on limestone, 0–3 m (Cuba)2          2/c. 2502                Parque Nacional Desembarco del Granma               JBC (4)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       (ii,iii,v)2
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. yuraguana       B1ab(ii)+2ab(ii)6            Scrub & pine forest on serpentine, 30–300 m        14/unknown6,17           Área Protegida de Recursos Manejados Mil            JBN-C (7), JBT3
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    (Cuba)17                                                                    Cumbres
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Botanic gardens with ex situ collections based on wild collected individuals are as follows: FTBG, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, USA; JBC, Jardín Botánico de Cupainicú, Cuba; JBI, Jardín Botánico de
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Cienfuegos; JBN-C, Jardín Botánico Nacional, Cuba; JBN-DR, Jardín Botánico Nacional, Dominican Republic; JBM, Jardín Botánico de Matanzas, Cuba; JBT, Jardín Botánico de las Tunas, Cuba; MBC,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Montgomery Botanical Center, USA; PSCT, Palmetum de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      González-Oliva et al. ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Ex situ collection has seedlings that have not yet been transplanted to the field
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Highly fragmented population(s)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Population(s) exhibit(s) recruitment

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Conservation framework for Coccothrinax
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      González-Oliva et al. ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Enríquez Rodríguez et al. ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Peguero et al. (b)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Mejía & García ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Leiva Sánchez et al. ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Suárez Oropesa ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Peguero et al. (b)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Burret ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Judd ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Peguero et al. ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Veloz et al. ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Urquiola Cruz et al. ()

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       457
458         B. Jestrow et al.

                PLATE 1 Critically Endangered species of Coccothrinax: (a) C.
                jimenezii, (b) C. borhidiana (in ex situ collection of Montgomery
                Botanical Center), (c) C. spissa, (d) C. victorinii (in ex situ
                collection of Jardín Botánico de Cupainicú). Photograph credits:
                                                                                                       PLATE 2 Critically Endangered species of Coccothrinax (all in
                (a) Francisco Jiménez, (b) Patrick Griffith, (c) Scott Zona, and
                                                                                                       habitat): (a) C. yuraguana, (b) C. montana, (c) C. boschiana, (d)
                (d) Raúl Verdecia.
                                                                                                       C. jimenezii (heavily harvested to make brooms). Photograph
                                                                                                       credits: (a) Lisbet González-Oliva, (b–d) Brett Jestrow.
                Future genetic studies may find that at least some of the re-
                maining Critically Endangered species of Coccothrinax for
                which there are currently no population genetic data avail-                            Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Conservation ef-
                able still harbour high genetic diversity.                                             forts for C. jimenezii have been structured within the con-
                                                                                                       text of broad international cooperation led by the Jardín
                                                                                                       Botánico Nacional (Dominican Republic) and Jardin
                Conservation and research agenda                                                       Botanique des Cayes (Haiti) in association with botanists
                                                                                                       from South Florida (Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden,
                The conservation management of threatened plants faces
                                                                                                       Montgomery Botanical Center, U.S. Department of
                particular challenges in the Caribbean Islands (Brown
                                                                                                       Agriculture, and Florida International University). There
                et al., ; Maunder et al., , ; Carey et al., ),
                                                                                                       have been extensive plant exploration expeditions in both
                most notably the diversity of political, cultural and socio-
                                                                                                       Haiti and the Dominican Republic, including demographic
                economic systems. We propose the following conservation
                                                                                                       studies and conservation assessments (Peguero et al., a).
                and research framework for Coccothrinax.
                                                                                                       Outreach outputs included the production of printed educa-
                                                                                                       tional material presented during the VI Simposio Flora de La
                Establish a regional conservation approach                                             Española in June  at Santo Domingo, Dominican
                                                                                                       Republic. Furthermore, we have established joint initiatives
                Regional cooperation is required to utilize and coordinate                             for professional progression of young Caribbean botanists,
                the existing skills and resources of the various Caribbean na-                         including two workshops on plant systematics in Haiti,
                tions more effectively. With endemic Critically Endangered                             training of one graduate student from the Dominican
                species in three countries, a comprehensive regional ap-                               Republic at Florida International University (Rodríguez,
                proach to the conservation of Coccothrinax will require col-                           ), and developing grant-supported projects for palm
                laboration between managers and plant biologists from                                  conservation through the Prince Bernhard Nature Fund,

                                                                                           Oryx, 2018, 52(3), 452–463 © 2017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317000588
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 46.4.80.155, on 30 Nov 2021 at 02:30:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000588
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000588
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 46.4.80.155, on 30 Nov 2021 at 02:30:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.
                                                                                                                                                                                                      Oryx, 2018, 52(3), 452–463 © 2017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317000588

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    TABLE 2 Main conservation challenges and conservation biology research conducted for the  Critically Endangered species of Coccothrinax (Table ).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Nickel min-                                 Urban, agricultural
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        ing or oil      Invasive       Population   & forest               Uncontrolled     Unsustainable                                       Conservation biology
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Taxon               drilling        alien plants   decline      developments           fires            ethnobotany         Other challenges                research
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. baracoensis      Nickel1         Yes1           Yes1         Yes1                   Yes1             No1
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. bermudezii       No1             No1            Yes1         Yes1                   No1              No1
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. borhidiana       Oil2,3          No2            Yes2         Yes2                   Yes2             Yes2                                                Ecology3
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. boschiana4,5     No4,5           No4,5          No4,5        No4,5                  No4,5            No4,5
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. crinita ssp.     No1             Yes1           No1          Yes1,6                 No1,6            Yes6                                                Ethnobotany6, ecology7,8
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     crinita
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. crinita ssp.     No1             Yes1           Yes1,9       Yes1                   Yes1             Yes1                Hybridization10                 Ecology9
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     brevicrinis
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. cupularis        No1             Yes1           Yes1         Yes1                   Yes1             Yes1
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. jimenezii        No4             No4,11         Yes4,11      No                     No4,11           Yes (Plate 2)11     Saline intrusion in soils11     Conservation genetics12,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ecology11
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. leonis           No1             Yes1           Yes1         Yes1                   Yes1             No1
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. montana          No4             No4            Unknown      Yes4                   Unknown          Unknown
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. nipensis         Nickel1         No1            Yes1         Yes1                   Yes1             No1
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. pauciramosa      Nickel1         Yes1           Yes1         Yes1                   Yes1             No1
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. spissa13,14      No4             Unknown        Yes13,14     Yes13,14               No13,14          Yes13,14                                            Ecology13,14, ethno-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                botany13,14, seed
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                germination13,14
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. victorinii       No1             Yes1           Yes1         Yes1                   No1              Yes1                Adult plants are transplanted
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                to gardens in urban & resort
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                developments
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C. yuraguana        No2,15          No2,15         Yes2,15      Yes2,15                No2,15           Yes2,15
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     González-Oliva et al. ()

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Conservation framework for Coccothrinax
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      González-Oliva et al. ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Enríquez Rodríguez et al. ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Peguero et al. (b)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Mejía & García ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Martínez Betancourt & Miranda (–)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Leiva Sánchez et al. ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Martínez Betancourt ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Suárez Oropesa et al. ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Suárez Oropesa ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Peguero et al. (a)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Jestrow et al. (b)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Peguero et al. ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Veloz et al. ()
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Urquiola Cruz et al. ()

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               459
460         B. Jestrow et al.

                the International Palm Society, and the Mohamed bin Zayed                              the Dominican Republic have maintained a tradition of bo-
                Species Conservation Fund.                                                             tanical fieldwork and research, Haiti has not had sustained
                   Botanists from the Dominican Republic have developed                                support for field botany. Both the Dominican Republic and
                successful protocols for seed germination of C. spissa                                 Haiti have a single botanic garden, and are key to developing
                (Peguero et al., ; Veloz et al., ), which may also be                          a framework for future conservation initiatives. Through
                applicable for the Critically Endangered species from                                  our inter-institutional collaborations (mostly supported by
                Cuba. Across the distribution range of Coccothrinax there                              the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund),
                are field botanists and palm taxonomists who are familiar                              members of our team have been exploring areas of Haiti sel-
                with its ecology and morphology. Their preliminary surveys                             dom visited since Ekman was there in the s (Jestrow
                suggest that hybridization detected in botanic gardens                                 et al., b). Fieldwork led by RV resulted in the rediscov-
                is also common in areas where species overlap (Suárez                                  ery of C. rigida on limestone cliffs near Sagua de Tánamo
                Oropesa, ). Caribbean island conservation biologists                               (Holguín province) in  (Verdecia et al., ). This spe-
                working with this genus have also gained experience regard-                            cies had not been seen since it was described by Grisebach
                ing unsustainable ethnobotanical practices, and are familiar                           () based on material collected by the American plant ex-
                with the challenges faced by land managers and administra-                             plorer Charles Wright (–). Recent plant exploration
                tors regarding implementation of effective protection in the                           activities led to the discovery of a new species, Coccothrinax
                protected areas of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.                             spirituana, in Cuba by CM and RV (Moya et al., b). This
                Preliminary molecular results suggest that the microsatellite                          new species is currently known in a single locality in the
                loci used for C. jimenezii (Jestrow et al., a) are also ap-                        province of Sancti Spiritus in an area of serpentine soils.
                plicable to other species of this genus. The experiences                               Studies focusing on its demography and distribution range
                already gained by individual teams provide a framework                                 are in progress.
                for development of a biodiversity strategy for                                             There are four Coccothrinax species that have not been
                Coccothrinax in the region.                                                            located since they were originally discovered. The first,
                                                                                                       C. acunana, was described by León (), and plants of
                                                                                                       this species were reported to occur only in the highest
                Establish a scientific framework for conservation                                      mountains of Cuba, near Pico Turquino, in the province
                                                                                                       of Santiago de Cuba. The species is categorized as
                A phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic review would clarify
                                                                                                       Vulnerable on the Red List for the Cuban flora (González-
                the conservation status of Coccothrinax taxa. For instance,
                                                                                                       Torres et al., ); however, its conservation status needs to
                C. jimenezii was described as a new species in  (Mejía
                                                                                                       be reassessed. The second species, C. microphylla, is another
                & García, ) but molecular studies revealed uncertainties
                                                                                                       Cuban endemic, described by Muñiz & Borhidi (). It ap-
                in the taxonomy of the two populations of this species
                                                                                                       pears to be restricted to limestone cliffs of Abra de Mariana
                (Jestrow et al., a), highlighting the need for a compre-
                                                                                                       in the lowlands of Guantanamo province. The third species,
                hensive taxonomic revision for Coccothrinax. The morpho-
                                                                                                       C. concolor, is known from only one herbarium collection,
                logical phylogenetic study of the genus undertaken by
                                                                                                       by Ekman in . The species was described by Burret
                Nauman & Sanders (a,b) identified three major groups,
                                                                                                       () and reported from low-elevation areas with volcanic
                each one including Critically Endangered species, with high
                                                                                                       soils near Jacmel, southern Haiti (Bailey, ). The fourth
                levels of homoplasy for the morphological characters.
                                                                                                       species, C. camagueyana, not only has an uncertain taxo-
                Molecular phylogenetic reconstructions for Coccothrinax
                                                                                                       nomic status but has not been found since it was described
                (Roncal et al., ) did not resolve major clades.
                                                                                                       (Moya et al., b).
                However, the conservation genetics study of C. jimenezii
                (Jestrow et al., a) demonstrated the utility of microsat-
                ellite DNA markers for insights into both genetic diversity
                and taxonomy. There are still many gaps in knowledge of                                Ensure wild populations are protected in situ, with
                the biology of the species, and there have been no studies                             supporting ex situ collections
                focused on breeding systems, plant–animal interactions,
                                                                                                       The Critically Endangered species of Coccothrinax are fa-
                competition from invasive alien plant species, or population
                                                                                                       cing a variety of threats. Five of the species are not present
                viability analyses.
                                                                                                       in protected areas, and four are not included in ex situ germ-
                                                                                                       plasm collections. An integrative approach to conservation
                Assess and monitor wild populations                                                    is the most immediate priority (Esposito, ; Petriello &
                                                                                                       Wallen, ). We are aware that in many cases official pro-
                There is a need to expand botanical field work in the range                            tected areas are not sufficiently resourced to ensure viability
                nations, particularly in Hispaniola, where there are still                             of wild populations; however, both Cuba and the
                under-collected areas, mostly in Haiti. Although Cuba and                              Dominican Republic have protected areas with effective

                                                                                           Oryx, 2018, 52(3), 452–463 © 2017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317000588
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 46.4.80.155, on 30 Nov 2021 at 02:30:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000588
Conservation framework for Coccothrinax                                461

              conservation management. Ex situ conservation is necessary                             de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and Scott Zona for sharing
              in some cases; for instance, the Dominican Republic                                    insights concerning taxonomic challenges associated with
              population of C. jimenezii is facing an immediate threat                               Coccothrinax and allied genera. This is contribution num-
              from the increasing water level of the hypersaline lake                                ber  from the Tropical Biology Program of Florida
              Lago Enriquillo, and the small population in Haiti is                                  International University.
              overharvested.
                  Establishing an ex situ resource should be part of an
              integral approach for conservation planning that involves                              Author contributions
              all stakeholders (Pritchard et al., ; McGowan et al.,
              ). Ideally this resource would be held primarily in the                            BJ, BP, FJ and WC led field work in Hispaniola and reviewed
              range state, and should ensure adequate genetic representa-                            conservation challenges for Haiti and the Dominican
              tion (Oldfield, ). There are botanic gardens located out-                          Republic. CEM, RV and LGO led field work in Cuba and re-
              side the Caribbean Islands that have ex situ conservation of                           viewed conservation challenges for Cuba. MPG made sig-
              palms as a mission priority (Maunder et al., ). Several of                         nificant contributions pertinent to ex situ conservation.
              these (e.g. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Montgomery                              AWM provided insights regarding conservation genetics.
              Botanical Center, and Palmetum of Tenerife) are already                                BJ, JFO and MM developed the proposed conservation
              collaborating with botanists from Hispaniola and Cuba to                               and research agenda and wrote the first draft of the article.
              develop representative living collections that hold duplicates                         BJ and JFO led grant proposals to undertake this project,
              of living germplasm collections and can mitigate issues re-                            and designed and developed the structure of this study.
              garding limited space and resources for ex situ conservation.

                                                                                                     References
              Conclusions
                                                                                                     A C E V E D O -R O D R Í G U E Z , P. & S T R O N G , M.T. (eds) ()
              This review is derived from a -year collaboration focused                                Monocotyledons and gymnosperms of Puerto Rico and the Virgin
              on the palm diversity of the Greater Antilles. Based on the                                Islands. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany, , –.
              results of our research of the conservation biology of palms,                          A C E V E D O -R O D R Í G U E Z , P. & S T R O N G , M.T. (eds) () Catalogue of
                                                                                                         seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany,
              we have proposed specific initiatives for the conservation of
                                                                                                         , –.
              the most threatened species of Coccothrinax. Our collabora-                            B A I L E Y , L.H. () Coccothrinax in the southern Greater Antilles.
              tive approach to integrative plant conservation provides a                                 Gentes Herbarum, , –.
              model for other groups of conservation concern. This                                   B E R A Z A Í N I T U R R A L D E , R., A R E C E S B E R A Z A Í N , F., L A Z C A N O L A R A , J.
              model is based on regional collaboration, building a frame-                                C. & G O N Z Á L E Z -T O R R E S , L.R. () Lista roja de la flora vascular
              work for genetic conservation, and ensuring the profession-                                cubana. Documentos del Jardín Botánico Atlántico de Gijón, , –.
                                                                                                     B R OW N , N., G E O G H E G A N , T. & R E N A R D , Y. () A Situation
              al progression of new Caribbean botanists. We acknowledge                                  Analysis for the Wider Caribbean. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
              the need for increased conservation awareness of these spe-                                Http://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/
              cies, particularly in the communities where they occur.                                    -.pdf [accessed  March ].
                                                                                                     B U R R E T , M. () Palmae cubenses et domingenses a Cl. E.L. Ekman
                                                                                                         – lectae. Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps Akademiens
              Acknowledgements                                                                           Handlingar, , –.
                                                                                                     B U R T O N , F.R. () Threatened Plants of the Cayman Islands. The
              We dedicate this study to the memory of Angela T. Leiva                                    Red List. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.
                                                                                                     C A R E Y , E., G A P E , L., M A N C O , B.N., H E P B U R N , D., S M I T H , R.L.,
              Sánchez (–) in recognition of her legacy of support-                               K N O W L E S , L. et al. () Plant conservation challenges in the
              ing palm conservation research in the Caribbean Islands.                                   Bahama archipelago. Botanical Review, , –.
              This study was supported with a grant from the Mohamed                                 D U N O D E S T E F A N O , R. & M O Y A , C.E. () A new record of
              bin Zayed Conservation Fund (grant number ,                                        Coccothrinax readii for Belize. Palms, , –.
              through the International Center for Tropical Botany,                                  E N R Í Q U E Z R O D R Í G U E Z , A., R O B L E D O O R T E G A , L. & C R U Z N A R D O , R.
                                                                                                         () Notas sobre la distribución y conservación de Coccothrinax
              Florida International University). Fairchild Tropical
                                                                                                         borhidiana (Arecaceae) en Cuba. Revista del Jardín Botánico
              Botanic Garden provided matching funds to conduct mo-                                      Nacional, , –.
              lecular research. The Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones                              E S P O S I T O , L. () Integrative conservation. SAIS Review, , –.
              Agropecuarias y Forestales of the Dominican Republic sup-                              F R E I D , E., F R A N C I S C O -O R T E G A , J. & J E S T R O W , B. () Endemic
              ported in-country conservation assessments of Critically                                   seed plants in the Bahamian Archipelago. Botanical Review, ,
                                                                                                         –.
              Endangered palms (project number CAD/-/RN,
                                                                                                     G A L E A N O -G A R C E S , G. () Primer registro de dos géneros de
              through the Consorcio Ambiental Dominicano and the                                         palmas para la flora colombiana. Mutisia, , –.
              Jardín Botánico Nacional). We thank Carlo Morici for pro-                              G AY L E , D.J. & G O O D R I C H , J.N. (eds) () Tourism Marketing and
              viding data pertinent to the ex situ collections of Palmetum                               Management in the Caribbean. Routledge, New York, USA.

              Oryx, 2018, 52(3), 452–463 © 2017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317000588
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 46.4.80.155, on 30 Nov 2021 at 02:30:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000588
462         B. Jestrow et al.

                G O N Z Á L E Z -O L I VA , L., G O N Z Á L E Z -T O R R E S , L.R., P A L M A R O L A , A. &              J. Caujapé-Castells), pp. –. Cambridge University Press,
                     B A R R I O S , D. (eds) () Categorización de taxones de la flora de                              Cambridge, UK.
                     Cuba—. Bissea,  (Número Especial ), –.                                                   M A U N D E R , M., L E I VA , A., S A N T I A G O -V A L E N T Í N , E., S T E V E N S O N , D.
                G O N Z Á L E Z -O L I VA , L., G O N Z Á L E Z -T O R R E S , L.R., P A L M A R O L A , A.,               W., A C E V E D O -R O D R Í G U E Z , P., M E E R OW , A.W. et al. () Plant
                     B A R R I O S , D. & T E S T É , E. (eds) () Categorización de taxones de                         conservation in the Caribbean Island biodiversity hotspot. Botanical
                     la flora de Cuba—. Bissea,  (Número Especial ), –.                                          Review, , –.
                G O N Z Á L E Z -T O R R E S , L.R., P A L M A R O L A , A., G O N Z Á L E Z O L I VA , L.,             M A U N D E R , M., L Y T E , B., D R A N S F I E L D , J. & B A K E R , W. () The
                     B É C Q U E R , E.R., T E S T É , E. & B A R R I O S , D. (eds) () Lista roja de la               conservation value of botanic garden palm collections. Biological
                     flora de Cuba. Bissea,  (Número Especial ), –.                                                 Conservation, , –.
                G R E U T E R , W. & R A N K I N , R. () The Spermatophyta of Cuba. A                               M C G O WA N , P.J.D., T R AY LO R -H O L Z E R , K. & L E U S , K. () IUCN
                     Preliminary Checklist. Botanischer Garten & Botanisches Museum,                                       guidelines for determining when and how ex situ management
                     Berlin, Germany. Http://portal.cybertaxonomy.org/flora-cuba/                                          should be used in species conservation. Conservation Letters, ,
                     node/ [accessed  March ].                                                                      –.
                G R I S E B AC H , A. () Catalogus Plantarum Cubensium. Gulielmum                                   M E J Í A , M. & G A R C Í A , R. () Una nueva especie de Coccothrinax
                     Engelmann, Leipzig, Germany.                                                                          (Arecaceae) para la Isla Española. Moscosoa, , –.
                H E N D E R S O N , A., A U B R Y , M., T I M Y A N , J. & B A L I C K , M. ()                      M E J Í A , M. & G A R C Í A , R. () Una nueva especie de Coccothrinax
                     Conservation status of Haitian palms. Principes, , –.                                         (Arecaceae) para la Isla Española. Moscosoa, , –.
                H E N D E R S O N , A., G A L E N AO , G. & B E R N A L , R. () Field Guide to the                  M É N D E Z S A N T O S , I.E., G U E O R G U I E V I C H E L E M E V S K Y , A., R I S C O
                     Palms of the Americas. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA.                                    V I L L A LO B O S , R., M A R T Í N E Z J I M É N E Z , V. & T R U J I L LO S Á N C H E Z , R.
                H E R S H B E R G , E. & L E O G R A N D E , W.M. (eds) () A New Chapter in                            () Contribución al conocimiento de la flora y vegetación de la
                     US–Cuba Relations. Social, Political, and Economic Implications.                                      Sierra de Cubitas (Camagüey). Revista del Jardín Botánico Nacional,
                     Palgrave Macmillan, New York, USA.                                                                    , –.
                H I N G T G E N , N., K L I N E , C., F E R N A N D E S , L. & M C G E H E E , N.G. ()              M I N I S T E R I O D E M E D I O A M B I E N T E Y R E C U R S O S N AT U R A L E S ()
                     Cuba in transition: tourism industry perceptions of entrepreneurial                                   Estrategia Nacional de Especies Exóticas Invasoras Realizado en el
                     change. Tourism Management, , –.                                                              Marco del Proyecto “Mitigando las Amenazas de las Especies Exóticas
                H O Y O S F E R N Á N D E Z , J. & B R A U N , A. () Palmas en Venezuela.                              Invasoras en el Caribe Insular”. Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y
                     Sociedad de Ciencias Naturales La Salle, Caracas, Venezuela.                                          Recursos Naturales, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Http://
                IUCN () IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version ..                                            ambiente.gob.do/wp-content/uploads///Estretegia-Nacional.
                     IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.                                                                             pdf [accessed  March ].
                IUCN () Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and                                       M O Y A , C.E. & L E I VA S Á N C H E Z , A.T. () Checklist of the palms of
                     Criteria. Version . Http://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/                                           Cuba, with notes on their ecology, distribution and conservation.
                     RedListGuidelines.pdf [accessed  March ].                                                       Palms, , –.
                J E S T R O W , B., P E G U E R O , B., J I M É N E Z , F., C I N E A , W., H A S S , M., R E E V E ,   M O Y A , C.E., M O R A L E S P É R E Z , R., M É N D E Z S A N T O S , I.E. &
                     A. et al. (a) Genetic diversity and differentiation of the Critically                             M A R T Í N E Z -P E N T Ó N , L.R. (a) Buscando la Coccothrinax
                     Endangered Hispaniolan palm Coccothrinax jimenezii M.M. Mejía                                         camagueyana. Unpublished Abstract of Presentation. VII Jornada
                     & R.G. García based on novel SSR markers. Biochemical Systematics                                     Nacional de Botánica-. Sociedad Cubana de Botánica and
                     and Ecology, , –.                                                                             Jardín Botánico de Sancti Spiritus, Sancti Spiritus, Cuba.
                J E S T R O W , B., P E G U E R O , B., J O S E P H , P.A., C I N E A , W. &                            M O Y A , C.E., V E R D E C I A , R. & M A R T Í N E Z -P E N T Ó N , L.R. (b) The
                     F R A N C I S C O -O R T E G A , J. (b) Exploring the northern lowlands of                        Coccothrinax “azul” from Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. Palms, , –.
                     Haiti. The Tropical Garden, (), –.                                                          M U Ñ I Z , O. & B O R H I D I , A. () Palmas nuevas del género
                J U D D , W.S. () Floristic study of Morne La Visite and Pic Macaya                                    Coccothrinax Sarg. en Cuba. Acta Botanica Academiae Scientiarum
                     national parks, Haiti. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum.                                          Hungaricae, , –.
                     Biological Sciences, , –.                                                                    M U Ñ I Z , O. & B O R H I D I , A. () Catálogo de las palmas nuevas
                L E I VA S Á N C H E Z , A.T. () Las Palmas en Cuba. Editorial                                         de Cuba. Acta Botanica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, ,
                     Científico-Técnica, Havana, Cuba.                                                                     –.
                L E I VA S Á N C H E Z , A.T., V E R D E C I A , R., F R A N C O F LO R E S , F., O J E D A , L.        N A U M A N , C.E. & S A N D E R S , R.W. (a) Preliminary classificatory
                     & U R Q U I O L A , A. () Estrategias integradas de conservación (I):                             studies in Coccothrinax (Palmae: Coryphoideae). Selbyana, , –.
                     protocolos para diez taxones de plantas vasculares amenazadas.                                     N A U M A N , C.E. & S A N D E R S , R.W. (b) An annotated key to the
                     Revista del Jardín Botánico Nacional, , –.                                                      cultivated species of Coccothrinax. Principes, , –.
                L E Ó N , B. () Contribución al estudio de las palmas de Cuba. III.                                 N E L S O N , C. & P R O C T O R , G.R. () Vascular plants of the Caribbean
                     Memorias de la Sociedad Cubana de Historia Natural “Felipe Poey”,                                     Swan Islands of Honduras. Brenesia, –, –.
                     , –.                                                                                       O L D F I E L D , S.F. () Botanic gardens and the conservation of tree
                L I O G I E R , A.H. () Árboles Dominicanos. Academia de Ciencias de                                   species. Trends in Plant Science, , –.
                     la República Dominicana, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.                                        O V I E D O P R I E T O , R. & G O N Z Á L E Z -O L I VA , L. () Lista nacional de
                M A R T Í N E Z B E TA N C O U R T , J.I. () Conservación de la “palma                                 plantas invasoras y potencialmente invasoras en la República de
                     petate” en el occidente de Cuba. Bissea,  (Número Especial ), .                                  Cuba—. Bissea,  (Número Especial ), –.
                M A R T Í N E Z B E TA N C O U R T , J.I. & M I R A N D A , J. (–)                              P A S AC H N I K , S.A., C A R R E R A S D E L E Ó N , R. & L E Ó N , Y.M. ()
                     Etnobotánica y educación para la conservación de Coccothrinax                                         Protected only on paper? Three case studies from protected areas in
                     crinita subsp. crinita, palma petate (Arecaceae). Revista del Jardín                                  the Dominican Republic. Caribbean Naturalist, , –.
                     Botánico Nacional, /, –.                                                                   P E G U E R O , B. & J I M É N E Z , F. () Inventario y estado de conservación
                M A U N D E R , M., A B D O , M., B E R A Z A Í N , R., C L U B B E , C., J I M É N E Z , F.,              de las plantas vasculares exclusivas de la República Dominicana.
                     L E I VA , A. et al. () The island plants of the Caribbean: a review of                           Moscosoa, , –.
                     the biogeography, diversity and conservation of a storm battered                                   P E G U E R O , B., J I M É N E Z , F., J O S E P H , P.A., C I N E A , W., G R I F F I T H , M.P.,
                     hot-spot. In The Biology of Island Floras (eds D. Bramwell &                                          F R A N C I S C O -O R T E G A , J. & J E S T R O W , B. (a) Coccothrinax

                                                                                                             Oryx, 2018, 52(3), 452–463 © 2017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317000588
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 46.4.80.155, on 30 Nov 2021 at 02:30:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000588
Conservation framework for Coccothrinax                            463

                 jimenezii—a Critically Endangered palm from Hispaniola. Palms,                                  U R Q U I O L A C R U Z , A.J., G O N Z Á L E Z -O L I VA , L., N O V O C A R B Ó , R. &
                 , –.                                                                                       A C O S T A R A M O S , Z. () Libro Rojo de la Flora Vascular de la
              P E G U E R O , B., V E LO Z , A., G A R C Í A , R., C L A S E , T., D E L O S S A N T O S , C.,      Provincia de Pinar del Río. Publicaciones de la Universidad de
                 J O N E S , D. & J I M É N E Z , F. () Estado de conservación y utilidad del                   Alicante, San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain.
                 guano barrigón, Coccothrinax spissa Bailey (Arecaceae), especie                                 V E LO Z , A., P E G U E R O , B. & C L A S E , T. () Aspectos ecológicos,
                 endémica de la República Dominicana. In Manual de Herramientas                                     distribución, germinación, usos, amenazas y estado de conservación
                 Etnobotánicas Relativas a la Conservación y el Uso Sostenible de los                               de las especies Copernicia berteroana Becc., Coccothrinax spissa
                 Recursos Vegetales (eds S. Lagos-Witte, O.L. Sanabria Diago,                                       Bailey, Reinhardtia paiewonskiana R. W. Read, T. A. Zanoni &
                 P. Chacón & R. García), pp. –. Red Latinoamericana de                                        M. Mejía, y Thrinax radiata Lodd. (Arecaceae) en la República
                 Botánica, Santiago de Chile, Chile.                                                                Dominicana. Unpublished report. Jardín Botánico Nacional de
              P E G U E R O , B., V E LO Z , A., G A R C Í A , R., C L A S E , T., D E L O S S A N T O S , C.,      Santo Domingo Dr. Rafael M. Moscoso, Consejo Nacional de
                 J O N E S , D. & J I M É N E Z , F. (b) Estado de conservación de las                          Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales y Consorcio Ambiental
                 palmas de la Isla Española. Moscosoa, , –.                                                 Dominicano, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
              P E T R I E L LO , M.A. & W A L L E N , K.E. () Integrative reflections on the                 V E R D E C I A , R. () Palms of Cuba. Todas las Palmas de Cuba. Florida
                 new conservation science debate. Biodiversity and Conservation, ,                                Keys TREE Institute, Key West, USA.
                 –.                                                                                      V E R D E C I A , R., G Ó M E Z , J.L., L E Y VA B E R M Ú D E Z , O. & H E R N Á N D E Z
              P OW E L L , R. & I N C H A U S T E G U I , S.J. () Conservation of the                           M O N T E R O , Y. () Coccothrinax rigida  años después de
                 herpetofauna of the Dominican Republic. Applied Herpetology, ,                                    Charles Wright. Bissea, (), .
                 –.                                                                                        W AC A S T E R , S., B A K E R , M.S., S O T O -V I R U E T , Y. & T E X T O R I S , S. ()
              P R I T C H A R D , D.J., F A , J.E., O L D F I E L D , S. & H A R R O P , S.R. () Bring          Recent trends in Cuba’s mining and petroleum industries (version
                 the captive closer to the wild: redefining the role of ex situ                                     .). U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet –, https://dx.doi.org/
                 conservation. Oryx, , –.                                                                     ./fs.
              P R O C T O R , R.G. () Flora of the Cayman Islands. Edition . Royal                          Z O N A , S. () The genera of Palmae (Arecaceae) in the southeastern
                 Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.                                                                          United States. Harvard Papers in Botany, , –.
              R A N K I N R O D R Í G U E Z , R. & A R E C E S B E R A Z A Í N , F. () Contribución          Z O N A , S., V E R D E C I A , R., L E I VA S Á N C H E Z , A., L E W I S , C.E. &
                 a la actualización taxonómica y localización geográfica de especies                                M A U N D E R , M. () The conservation status of West Indian palms
                 amenazadas y endémicas en Cuba I. Revista del Jardín Botánico                                      (Arecaceae). Oryx, , –.
                 Nacional, , –.
              R O D R Í G U E Z , R. () Genetic diversity and conservation of
                 Pseudophoenix (Arecaceae) in Hispaniola. MSc thesis. Florida                                    Biographical sketches
                 International University, Miami, USA.
              R O M E R O L U N A , E.J. & P OT E A U , D. () Water Level Fluctuations of                    B R E T T J E S T R O W is a herbarium curator and is specialized in tropical
                 Lake Enriquillo and Lake Saumatre in Response to Environmental                                  plant systematics. B R Í G I D O P E G U E R O leads plant exploration activ-
                 Changes. Unpublished Masters of Engineering Project. Cornell                                    ities in the Dominican Republic. F R A N C I S C O J I M É N E Z is the head
                 University, Ithaca, USA. Https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/                                   of the botany programme at Jardín Botánico Nacional in the
                 / [accessed  March ].                                                            Dominican Republic. R A Ú L V E R D E C I A leads projects focused on
              R O N C A L , J., Z O N A , S. & L E W I S , C.E. () Molecular phylogenetic                    the biodiversity of Cuban palms. L I S B E T G O N Z Á L E Z - O L I V A is a con-
                 studies of Caribbean palms (Arecaceae) and their relationships to                               servation biology researcher interested in Cuban threatened species.
                 biogeography and conservation. Botanical Review, , –.                                    C E L I O M O Y A is a palm biologist who has worked for the Jardín
              S U Á R E Z O R O P E S A , D. () Coccothrinax × angelae (Arecaceae),                          Botánico de Sancti Spíritus, Cuba and for Gemini Botanic Garden,
                 nuevo híbrido natural del género para Cuba. Revista del Jardín                                  Florida. W I L L I A M C I N E A has an interest in plant conservation and
                 Botánico Nacional, , –.                                                                    botanic garden management. M. P A T R I C K G R I F F I T H is specialized
              S U Á R E Z O R O P E S A , D., S O S A R O D R Í G U E Z , F.M., V E G A M A R R E R O , G.,      in ex situ conservation in botanic gardens. A L A N M E E R O W is
                 G Ó M E Z B R I T O , R. & P A N F E T V A L D É S , C.M. () Conservación de                a senior research geneticist and systematist. M I K E M A U N D E R is a
                 las palmas (Arecaceae) en el Macizo Guamuhaya, provincia                                        conservationist with a focus on tropical plant species. J A V I E R
                 Cienfuegos. Revista Centro Agrícola, , –.                                                 F R A N C I S C O - O R T E G A has an interest in Caribbean plant biodiversity.

              Oryx, 2018, 52(3), 452–463 © 2017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317000588
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 46.4.80.155, on 30 Nov 2021 at 02:30:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000588
You can also read