Astrocaryum carnosum VU Taxonomic Authority: F.Kahn & B.Millán Global Assessment Regional Assessment Region: Global Endemic to region Synonyms Common Names HUICUNGO Spanish; Castilian Upper Level Taxonomy Kingdom: PLANTAE Phylum: TRACHEOPHYTA Class: LILIOPSIDA Order: ARECALES Family: PALMAE Lower Level Taxonomy Rank: Infra- rank name: Plant Hybrid Subpopulation: Authority: General Information Distribution Astrocaryum carnosum is known only from the upper Huallaga River, Tocache to Tingo María in central Peru (Kahn 2008). Extent of occurrence is estimated based on the extent of the upper Huallaga River and known occurrences. Range Size Elevation Biogeographic Realm Area of Occupancy: Upper limit: 500 Afrotropical Extent of Occurrence: 5335 Lower limit: Antarctic Map Status: Depth Australasian Upper limit: Neotropical Lower limit: Oceanian Depth Zones Palearctic Shallow photic Bathyl Hadal Indomalayan Photic Abyssal Nearctic Population Between 1987-1990 dense populations of A. carnosum were recorded on the understory of the forest in the upper Huallaga valley, department San Martin, province Mariscal Cáceres at about 20 km from Uchiza near an industrial plantation of African oil palm (Palmas del Espin, S.A) (Couturier et al. 1992). Exact population size is not known. Total Population Size Minimum Population Size: Maximum Population Size: Habitat and Ecology This multi-stemmed palm grows in forests on alluvial soils (Kahn et al. 1992) and seasonal swamp forest (Kahn 2008), where it dominates the understory with two other palm species, Phytelephas macrocarpa Ruiz and Pavon and Chelyocarpus ulei Dammer. These forests are periodically flooded by the Huallaga River in February and March. The average rainfall in this area is 3,000 mm with a peak from December to March and a dry period from June to August. The average annual temperature is 26°C. This genus is known to colonize deforested areas and secondary forest (Couturier et al. 1992). System Movement pattern Crop Wild Relative Terrestrial Freshwater Nomadic Congregatory/Dispersive Is the species a wild relative of a crop? Marine Migratory Altitudinally migrant Growth From Definition Tree - size unknow Tree (any size), also termed a Phanerophyte (>1m) Threats A. carnosum is attacked by a pest named Dynamis borassi which is a potential vector of the red ring nematode that causes the lethal red ring disease of palms. D. borassi uses this palm as a host and is considered to be a source of pests for industrial palm plantations (Couturier et al. 1992). As a result A. carnosum may itself become a target from the plantation owners. Coca cultivation, palm oil plantations and illegal logging of mahogany threaten the habitat in which A. carnosum resides. It is threatened further by the growing network of roads in this region, which will provide better access to forests, which is likely to result in more illegal logging and habitat loss (WWF ecoregions, accessed 2009). Past Present Future 1 Habitat Loss/Degradation (human induced) 1.1 Agriculture 1.1.1 Crops 1.1.1.2 Small-holder farming 1.1.3 Non-timber plantations 1.1.3.2 Large-scale 1.3 Extraction 1.3.3 Wood 1.3.3.1 Small-scale subsistence 1.3.3.2 Selective logging 1.3.3.3 Clear-cutting 1.4 Infrastructure development 1.4.2 Human settlement 1.4.4 Transport - land/air 2 Invasive alien species (directly affecting the species) 2.4 Pathogens/parasites Conservation Measures A. carnosum falls just outside the two protected areas in the region: Cordillera Azul National Park and Rio Abiseo National Park. This palm is not listed on CITES and seeds from this species are not present in the Millennium Seed Bank, UK. Countries of Occurrence PRESENCE ORIGIN Year Breeding Non- Passage Possibly ExtinctPresence Native Introduced Re- Vagrant Origin Round Season breeding migrant extinct uncertain Introduced uncertain only season only Peru General Habitats Score Description Major Importance 1 Forest 1UnsetSuitable 1.6 Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland1Unset Suitable Species Utilisation Species is not utilised at all Purpose / Type of Use Subsistence National International 1. Food - human Liquid endosperm of unripe fruit is drunk (Kahn et al. 1992). Trend in the level of wild offtake/harvest in relation to total wild population numbers over the last five years: Trend in the amount of offtake/harvest produced through domestication/cultivation over the last five years: CITES status: Not listed IUCN Red Listing Red List Assessment:(using 2001 IUCN system) Vulnerable (VU) Red List Criteria: B1ab(iii) Date Last Seen (only for EX, EW or Possibly EX species): Is the species Possibly Extinct? Possibly Extinct Candidate? Rationale for the Red List Assessment A. carnosum has a restricted range. It is known from one location in the upper Huallaga Valley in Peru where its total extent of occurrence (EOO) is approximately 5,335 km2. It is directly threatened by the pest Dynamis borassi, which uses this palm as a host and is also considered to be a potential vector of the red ring nematode that causes the lethal red ring disease of palms. The habitat in which this species resides is being threatened and lost to coca and oil palm plantations. Coca is the most lucrative cash crop in Peru and it is crucial to the Peruvian economy. The upper Huallaga valley, where this palm grows, is where most of the world’s coca is grown (more than 30 %) (Trujillo 1992). In 1992, the 'Palmas del Espino' oil plantation was within 20 km of the then dense populations of this palm (Couturier 1992). Its expansion could severely threaten the future of this species. On the other hand as A. carnosum is considered to be a source of pests for cultivated palms; it has the potential to spread diseases such as the lethal red ring disease among the plantation. In effect, it may be more of a threat to the plantation than the plantations encroachment on its habitat. However, the owners of the plantation may attempt to eradicate the host of these pests i.e. A. carnosum in order to eliminate the disease, thereby severely threatening the future of this palm. In addition to these threats, further habitat loss is occurring as a result of the expanding road network in Peru. This is leading to growing logging activity in the area, both legal and illegal logging of mahogany (Revkin 2008). Reason(s) for Change in Red List Category from the Previous Assessment: Genuine Change Nongenuine Change No Change Genuine (recent) New information Taxonomy Same category Genuine (since first assessment) Knowledge of Criteria Criteria Revisio and criteria Incorrect data used Other Same category but previously change in criteria Current Population Trend: Unknown Date of Assessment: 05/06/2009 Name(s) of the Assessor(s): Christine Loftus Evaluator(s): Notes: % population decline in the past: Time period over which the past decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): % population decline in the future: Time period over which the future decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): Number of Locations: 1 Severely Fragmented: Number of Mature Individuals: Bibliography Couturier, G & Kahn, F., 1992, Notes on the insect fauna on two species of Astrocaryum (Palmae, Cocoeae, Bactridinae) in Peruvian Amázonia, with emphasis on potential pests of cultivated palms., Bull. Inst. Fr. Etudes andines2, 715-725, , Couturier, G., O'Biren, C.W., Kahn, F., 1998, Astrocaryum carnosum and A. chonta (Palmae), New Host for the Weevil, Dynamis borassi (Curculionidae: Rhynchophorinae), Principes4, 227-228, , Kahn, F & Millán, B., 1992, Astrocaryum (Palmae) in Amazonia A Preliminary Treatment, Bulletin de L'Institut Francais d'Etudes Andines, 459-531, , Kahn, F., 2008, The genus Astrocaryum (Arecaceae), Las palmeras en América del Sur—Rev. peru. biol., , , PADIL, accessed 2009, Pests and disease image library15/06/09, , , Revkin, A.C., 2008, Murder on the Resource Frontier, The new york times, , , Stephen G. Trujillo;, 1992, Peru's Maoist Drug Dealers, The New York Times, , , World Wildlife Fund, 2001, WWF Ecoregion Profiles, , World Wildlife Fund © 2001, .