Cook’s Holly (Ilex cookii) Image of the type specimen from the Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region Caribbean Ecological Services Field Office Boquerón, Puerto Rico 5-YEAR REVIEW Cook’s Holly / Ilex cookii I. GENERAL INFORMATION A. Methodology used to complete the review: On April 9, 2010, the Service published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the 5-year review of Cook’s holly (Ilex cookii) and requested new information concerning the biology and status of the species (75 FR 18232). A 60-day comment period was opened. No comment letters were received from the public during this period. This 5-year review was finalized by a Service biologist and summarizes the information that the Service has gathered in the Cook’s holly file since the plant was listed on June 16, 1987. The sources of information used for this review included the original listing rule for the species, the recovery plan for Cook’s holly, and information provided by the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM). Under cooperative agreement with the Service, professors from UPRM, Dr. Duane A. Kolterman and Dr. Jesús D. Chinea, provided to the Service a draft 5-year review compiling all available information on Cook’s holly. They conducted literature research on the species, consulted with other specialists, and examined herbarium data from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (MAPR), Río Piedras Botanical Garden (UPR), University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras (UPRRP), Department of Natural and Environmental Resources of Puerto Rico (SJ), New York Botanical Garden (NY), US National Herbarium (US), and University of Illinois (ILL). In addition, the professors from UPRM and Service biologist, Omar Monsegur, conducted a field trip on July 5, 2011, to evaluate the population status of Cook’s holly at Cerro Punta located in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. We did not seek additional peer review on this 5 year review since Dr. Kolterman, Dr. Chinea and Service biologist, Omar Monsegur, are leading experts on this and other plants that share habitat with Cook’s holly. For this review, they gathered the best available information on this species. B. Reviewers Lead Region: Kelly Bibb, Southeastern Region, Atlanta, Georgia. (404) 679-7132 Lead Field Office: Carlos Pacheco, Caribbean Ecological Services Field Office, Boquerón, Puerto Rico. (787) 851-7297, extension 221. C. Background 1. Federal Register Notice citation announcing initiation of this review: April 9, 2010; 75 FR 18232 2 2. Species Status: Unknown. Although several attempts to find the Cook’s holly were conducted by species’ experts, the species has not been sighted since 1970. On July 5, 2011, professors from UPRM and a Service biologist visited the historical site for the species at Cerro Punta in the municipality of Ponce, but the species was not found. They collected a specimen of what they believe to be Cook’s holly, but the sample is sterile (have neither flower nor fruit). The sample needs to be validated by a more detailed morphological study and probably through genetic studies. Therefore, at present the status of Cook’s holly is uncertain. 3. Recovery Achieved: 1 (1=0-25% of species’ recovery objectives achieved). 4. Listing History Original Listing FR notice: 52 FR 22936 Date listed: June 16, 1987 Entity listed: species Classification: endangered 5. Associated rulemakings: Not applicable. 6. Review History: The June 16, 1987 final rule (52 FR 22936) and the Ilex cookii and Cyathea Dryopteroides Recovery Plan (hereafter the “Plan”), approved on January 31, 1991 (USFWS 1991), are the most comprehensive analysis of the species’ status and are used as reference point documents for this 5-year review. Cook’s holly (Family Aquifoliaceae) was first collected in 1926 by H.A. Gleason and M. T. Cook at Cerro Punta, the highest elevation point in Puerto Rico (USFWS 1991). This locality is known as the type locality because the species was described from the material collected in this site. The species was later found on Monte Jayuya, about a mile (1.6 kilometers) to the east of Cerro Punta (Vivaldi et al. 1981). The species appear to be restricted to the dwarf (elfin) forest vegetation in the central mountains (elevations greater than 2700 feet or 830 meters) of Puerto Rico. In the July 16, 1987 final listing rule for this plant, the Service reviewed the best scientific and commercial information available, analyzed the five listing factors and their application to these species and listed Cook’s holly as endangered. The Service identified Factor A (present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range), Factor D (the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms) and Factor E (other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence) as the main threats to the species. The recovery plan signed on January 31, 1991 (USFWS 1991) included a description of the species and information about its distribution, habitat characteristics, reproductive biology and conservation. The information provided in the recovery plan will not be repeated in this review. 3 A species’ review was conducted for Cook’s holly in 1991 (56 FR 56882). In this review, the status of many species was simultaneously evaluated with no in-depth assessment of the five factors as they pertain to the individual species. The notice stated that the Service was seeking any new or additional information reflecting the necessity of a change in the status of the species under review. The notice indicated that if significant data were available warranting a change in a species’ classification, the Service would propose a rule to modify the species’ status. No change in Cook’s holly’s listing classification was found to be appropriate. Every year the Service reviews the status of listed species and updates species information in the Recovery Data Call (RDC). The last RDC for Cook’s holly was completed in 2012. Recovery Data Call: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. 7. Species’ Recovery Priority Number at start of review (48 FR 43098): 5. At the time of listing, Cook’s holly was recognized as a species with a high degree of threat and a low recovery potential. 8. Recovery Plan: Name of plan: Ilex cookii and Cyathea dryopteroides Recovery Plan Date issued: January 31, 1991 II. REVIEW ANALYSIS A. Application of the 1996 Distinct Population Segment (DPS) policy The Endangered Species Act (Act) defines species to include any distinct population segment of any species of vertebrate wildlife. This definition limits listings as distinct population segments (DPS) to only vertebrate species of fish and wildlife. Because the DPS policy is not applicable to plant species, it is not addressed further in this review. B. Recovery Criteria 1. Does the species have a final, approved recovery plan containing objective, measurable criteria? Yes. Cook’s holly has an approved recovery plan (USFWS 1991) establishing reclassification from endangered to threaten status as the initial recovery objective. However, the recovery plan does not have measurable reclassification criteria. In addition, the plan does not contain measurable recovery objectives for delisting. 2. Adequacy of recovery criteria a. Do the recovery criteria reflect the best available and most up-to-date information on the biology of the species and its habitat? No. When the recovery plan was signed, very little information on the species’ biology, life history and habitat requirements was available. At present time, we do not know the status of the species in its limited populations. 4 b. Are all of the 5 listing factors that are relevant to the species addressed in the recovery criteria? No. 3. List the recovery criteria as they appear in the recovery plan, and discuss how each criterion has or has not been met, citing information. The Plan establishes that the species could be considered for reclassification from endangered to threatened species when the following criteria is met: 1. At least two new populations capable of self-perpetuation have been established within protected units of the Commonwealth Forest (Monte Guilarte or Toro Negro) or on Federal land within the Caribbean National Forest. The Plan establishes that this criterion should be considered as a minimum requirement, and may be modified if new populations of mature plants are discovered, particularly if on private land, creating the necessity to place greater emphasis on protection, rather than propagation. This criterion has not been met. Although species’ experts have been searching for Cook’s holly, the species has not been found since 1970. Thus, propagation of this species has not been attempted. Additionally, there is no information about the minimum number of individuals needed per population, species’ habitat requirements, and phenology. Therefore, until the species is found, population dynamics are studied and we have enough information to determine what constitutes a viable population; this criterion will not be met. C. Updated Information and Current Species Status 1. Biology and Habitat a. Species’ abundance, population trends (e.g., increasing, decreasing, stable), demographic features, or demographic trends No new information regarding species’ abundance, population trends, demographic features or demographic trends was found during this 5-year review. Cook’s holly is known from only seven herbarium collections, all from Cerro Punta and Monte Jayuya in the central mountains of Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, the herbarium vouchers provide no information on the status of the populations. At the time of listing, Cook’s holly populations consisted of a single 15 foot (2.5 meter) tree with 4 small root sprouts known from Cerro Punta, and several ( up to 30) sprouts or seedlings less than 24 inches (60 centimeters) tall known along the ridge tops of Monte Jayuya (52 FR 22936).