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The Rufford Small Grants for Nature Conservation The Rufford Small Grants fo r Nature Conservation ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION This publication was produced by the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG) of Antigua and Barbuda, and was funded by the Rufford Small Grants for Conservation, UK. With this document, it is our hope that we may encourage national support for the protection of native species and habitats, to stimulate science and research of the local flora and fauna, and to help increase the awareness about the importance and value of the islands’ native fern flora. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Rufford Small Grants for Nature Conservation, UK. The author of this document is Kevel Lindsay. Cover photograph of the West Indian endemic maiden hair fern Adiantum fragile var. fragile at Tremontania, Antigua. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION ii INTRODUCTION 1 Background 1 Project Objectives 1 Justification for Project 1 THE VALUE OF THE IUCN RED LIST AND ITS PREPARATORY PROCESS 4 THE PTERIDOPHYTES 6 The Pteridophytes of Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda 6 APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY 8 IUCN RED LIST CATEGORIES AND CRITERIA 9 DESCRIPTION OF THE RED LIST 9 Naming of Plants 9 Supporting Data 9 Endemics 10 International Responsibility 10 Global and Regional Status 10 THE PTERIDOPHYTES RED LIST 11 West Indian endemics 11 Neotropical species 11 Pantropical 11 Old World 11 Tropical American 11 The Red List of Pteridophytes 11 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 17 SPECIES REQUIRING LEGAL PROTECTION 17 THE NEED FOR HABITAT PROTECTION 17 USING THE IUCN RED LIST TO SUPPORT THE CONSERVATION OF PTERIDOPHYTES 19 THE PHYSICALSETTING: ANTIGUA, BARBUDA AND REDONDA 20 Geography and Landscape 20 Geology, Drainage and Soils 20 Climate 25 Flora and Fauna 26 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 28 REFERENCES AND CITATIONS 29 APPENDIX I - the IUCN Categories 32 APPENDIX II - the IUCN Criteria 34 APPENDIX III - USE OF THE IUCN CATEGORIES AND CRITERIA 36 Appendix IV – Definitions 37 THE REGIONAL RED LIST OF PTERIDOPHYTES OF ANTIGUA, BARBUDA & REDONDA iii INTRODUCTION Background The IUCN Red List is globally recognised and admired as one of the most useful and effective tools to aid in the conservation of threatened species of plants and animals. It is with this in mind that the EAG has produced The Regional Red List of Pteridophytes of Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda. This publication forms part of a larger effort: The Conservation of the Ferns of Antigua and Barbuda and their Forest Habitats, which focuses on the regional range- restricted pteridophytes—species of which are only known from one small population or from areas less than a few hundred square meters in extent. The project will highlight the plight of these ferns and their ecosystems, and in addition to the regional Red List of the islands’ ferns and fern allies, it will produce a national conservation perspective, and an educational booklet. It aims to strengthen national biodiversity conservation by highlighting the predicaments of pteridophytes, and use them as a vehicle to promote forest protection and management. Project Objectives The main objectives of the project include: I. To survey and determine the status of the ferns of the country and highlight species of critical concern; II. To increase the awareness of the value of native ferns and conserve and protect their habitats; and III. To produce a National Red List of ferns. Justification for Project The Regional Red List of Pteridophytes of Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda was developed with funding support from the Rufford Small Grant for Nature Conservation, of the Rufford Small Grants Foundation, UK. The focus of this publication, and of the wider project effort, is the native and naturalised pteridophytes (ferns and fern allies) of Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda, and on their protection and conservation. The pteridophytes are some of the most revered of all plants—not only gracing the sanctuary of many homes and gardens, but also inspiring visions of resplendent jungle landscapes and lush tropical forests. In spite of this, the West Indian fern flora is perhaps the most understudied and least known of the region’s native plants. Those of Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda (the three islands form the nation of Antigua and Barbuda) are no different. THE REGIONAL RED LIST OF PTERIDOPHYTES OF ANTIGUA, BARBUDA & REDONDA 1 Most of the pteridophytes of Antigua and Barbuda are quite rare, and several new species such as the Adder’s Tongue (Ophioglossum reticulatum) have just recently been added to the country plant records. The current list stands at over 70 species. Most of these are found in the wetter volcanic south of Antigua— many restricted to the deep moist sheltered valleys. Some are rarely seen, including Thelypteris patens, a species common on other Lesser Antillean islands, but quite rare in Antigua; or Thelypteris hispidula, a species nicknamed the “pepper fern” because of the stinging sensation that results when the leaves are pressed on to the tongue. Though ferns are recognized for their horticultural value, imparting great joy and wonder to gardeners and others, their role in the natural environment is less obvious or understood. They, like other plants, are important in their own right, and are a significant part of the country’s biodiversity heritage. In Antigua forest ecosystems for example, ferns often make up the bulk of the ground cover on the forest floor and a significant proportion of the epiphytic vegetation, and therefore, are a significant part of the forest biomass, contributing significantly to the nutrient and water cycles of the upper layers of the soil. The loss of the ferns would not only be a blow to the psyche and culture of Antigua and Barbuda—ferns are great indicators of habitat types, and because many species are environment-specific, they can provide important clues as to the changes in the environment, including the quality of the habitat, the effects of deforestation and habitat fragmentation on the long-term ecological processes and stability of an area, and even on the potential impacts of global climate change on the forests. By focusing on ferns, this project is supporting a long-term integrated conservation approach to help address both acute and broader conservation issues, including the plight of regional (West Indian) plant and bird endemics, and critical ecosystems. This project forms part of an ongoing plant conservation effort being led by the EAG in Antigua, and supports the organization’s long-term goal to conserve and protect the country's native biodiversity; developing a pteridophyte Red List is one of the main approaches to achieving this. The IUCN categories and criteria are the accepted method of producing Red Lists of threatened species internationally and also at a national and regional level. The purpose of this Red List is: To be the first comprehensive pteridophytes Red List of Antigua & Barbuda. To be a basis for input to new environmental protection legislation in Antigua & Barbuda. To be one of the focal points for native plant and habitat protection in Antigua and Barbuda; and THE REGIONAL RED LIST OF PTERIDOPHYTES OF ANTIGUA, BARBUDA & REDONDA 2 To be one of the first pteridophytes Regional Red Lists based on IUCN guidelines in the Caribbean. Antigua’s first plant Red List was published by the EAG in 2009 and included ferns, dicots and monocots. This issue of the Red List includes changes to the first fern review based on recent surveys and analysis. As with the 2009 List, the List of Pteridophytes is meant to be updated and annotated during further surveys and future work, and as our understanding and knowledge of the taxa and the on-the-ground situations. In due course it is hoped that this publication, along with the project’s other outputs, will facilitate future protected area legislation and in situ conservation programmes. THE REGIONAL RED LIST OF PTERIDOPHYTES OF ANTIGUA, BARBUDA & REDONDA 3 THE VALUE OF THE IUCN RED LIST AND ITS PREPARATORY PROCESS The IUCN Red List was first created in 1963 as part of an effort to globally assess the world’s species, and to focus attention on the potential for their extinctions. The List was first referred to as the IUCN Red Data List. The List itself is an inventory and a database of the world’s plant and animal species, which provide an account of their taxonomy, their conservation status, including threats, population and ecological information. Its primary goal is to bring urgent attention to the conservation needs and challenges of the world’s wild species by working with policy makers, groups, scientists and public institutions and interests. The IUCN works through local networks as well as through the international community to accomplish this. The Red List is perhaps the best known threatened or endangered species list in the world, and “…is one of the most effective sources of information for conservation planners…” (Lamoreux et al, 2003). Despite the potential downside for some to rely on the List as the sole means of addressing the conservation needs of a species, groups of species and/or habitats, when it is used in a diverse and varied conservation approach, it nevertheless is a useful tool for setting medium and long-term priorities for the conservation and management of threatened species. The process of developing the regional and global Red List is rigorous, precise and comprehensive, and yet it maintains a certain level of flexibility to allow for uncertainties, and also allows outside expert challenges and reviews to help redefine and refine particular situations. It is this rigorous process that proves particularly effective in developing regional Red Lists. The Regional Red Lists (as opposed to the Global Red Lists) is an inventory of the conservation status of the plant and/or animal species of a particular country or region.