Scottish plant conservation Aline Finger [email protected] Cicerbita alpina – Alpine blue sow-thistle Cicerbita alpina – Alpine blue sow-thistle Cicerbita alpina – Alpine blue sow-thistle • At brink of extinction in the UK • Categorised Vulnerable in Red Data List for Great Britain • Protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 • A priority species in the Scottish Biodiversity Route map to 2020 • Included in the Cairngorms Nature Action Plan • Threatened by grazing and landslides Flagship for species recovery through changed land management Data collection – Collaboration with SNH and Landowners • Counts / monitoring • Collect leaves for genetic analyses • Collect plants for ex-situ collections Corrie Kander Lochnagar Caenlochan Corrie Fee Why No Reproduction? • Overgrazing? • Lack of pollinators / pollen quantity? • At edge of distribution range? • How many individuals? • Self-incompatibility? • Inbreeding depression? Corrie Kander Lochnagar Caenlochan Corrie Fee Why No Reproduction? Cicerbita alpina in Norway Cicerbita alpina in Scotland Dr Duncan Halley Why No Reproduction? Habitat fragmentation Population reduction and isolation Genetic Rescue Elevated inbreeding “Increase in fitness of small populations resulting from the Expression of deleterious alleles alleviation of inbreeding Loss of genetic diversity depression by immigrants“ Thrall et al. (1998) Elevated risk of extinction Genetic Rescue Genetic data High Relatedness between individuals Corrie Kander Lochnagar ≥ 7 plants Caenlochan ≥ 3 plants Corrie Fee ≥ 13 plants ≥ 8 plants Cross-pollination experiments Caenlochan Corrie Corrie Fee Lochnagar Kander Norway Corrie Corrie Cross-pollination experiments 2017 pollinations, PRELIMINARY results: 242 seedlings in total • 165 resulting from crosses between populations 11% germination success • 77 resulting from selfing 4% germination success Species is self-compatible Crossings between populations increases germination rates 2017 Trial Conservation Translocations 1. Morrone Birkwood 2. Mar Lodge 3. Corrie Fee 2017 Trial Conservation Translocations Collaborations: - Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) - Landowners and estate managers Licenses: - Collecting wild material - Translocations Plant Health: - Biosecurity (RBGE at the forefront) 2017 Trial Conservation Translocations 1. Morrone Birkwood 2. Mar Lodge 3. Corrie Fee Site1 Site2 Site1 Site2 Site1 Site2 Corrie Kander Corrie Kander Corrie Kander Corrie Kander Corrie Kander Corrie Kander clone clone clone clone clone clone 20 20 20 20 20 20 + + + + + + Lochnagar Lochnagar Lochnagar Lochnagar Lochnagar Lochnagar clone clone clone clone clone clone 20 20 20 20 20 20 2017 Trial Conservation Translocations 2017 Trial Conservation Translocations Monitoring: summer 2018 Corrie Sharroch 2017 Trial Conservation Translocations Morrone Birkwood and Mar Lodge Cicerbita alpina – Alpine blue sow-thistle Genetics - Scottish sites highly inbred & low genetic diversity - Only few individuals remain - Crossing between populations increases seed set - Self-compatible Translocations - Survival in all 3 locations - Additional fencing needed at easy accessible sites - Only plants at inaccessible site reached flowering state Conclusion - Grazing has the most imminent impact on plants - Following long-term isolation inbreeding has an additional impact on reproduction - Ongoing monitoring and research - The case of C. alpina represents a wider conservation issue that many other species are facing in the UK Thanks! Aline Finger [email protected] Saxifraga hirculus – Marsh Saxifrage Scotland Caithness - 5 known areas - 17 populations - Formerly near sea Aberarder Grampian level Estate - Present: 300-650m Fealar Estate Pentland Hills Saxifraga hirculus - Perennial - 5-30cm - Insect pollinated - Wet, base-rich flushes and mires - Strong declines up to 1930 How much clonal reproduction? © Beat Bäumler Fealar Estate: Flush 1 Fealar Estate: Flush 2 Extent: 120m2 T5 Grazing: Intermediate to low # Samples: 90 # Transects: 5 T1 T2 T4 5 0 m 3 T3 5m T4 T3 T5 T2 Extent: 150m2 Grazing: Intermediate to low # Samples: 75 # Transects: 5 T1 Grampian: Cabrach Grampian: Silverford T6 T5 T4 Extent: 200m2 Grazing: Low T3 # Samples: 96 5 0 m # Transects: 6 T1 T2 6m T2 Extent: 6m2 Grazing: Low T3 T1 # Samples: 45 # Transects: 3 Grazing pressure Caithness Saxifraga hirculus – Marsh Saxifrage - Clonal reproduction is high in Scottish Saxifraga hirculus populations - Population size is not necessarily the best proxy to predict genotype diversity - Even some small populations have high diversity and are thus important for conservation - Grazing pressure is limiting the ability of this species to reproduce Ex-situ collections and conservation Target 8 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation aims to ensure that 75% of threatened plants are protected in cultivation, and at least 20 % are available for recovery and restoration by 2020. Ex-situ collections and conservation • Of 181 threatened Scottish plant species, RBGE has 86% of these protected as living collections, and these form the basis for population translocation/reintroductions, and the material for ecosystem restoration. • Protected collections represent genetic diversity of meticulously documented wild populations, aiming for at least 20 individuals sampled from > 3 populations per species. Ex-situ collections and conservation Research on reproductive biology LN CL LN CF CK Bulking up rootstocks for recovery Biosecurity Ex-situ collections and conservation Risks & precautions Spontaneous hybridisation Dependence on cultivation Non native weeds… …and non native pests Ex-situ collections and conservation Collaborations: - Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) - Conservation organisations - Landowners and estate managers Britain’s Rarest Fern Woodsia ilvensis (L.) R. Br. Britain’s Rarest Fern Woodsia ilvensis (L.) R. Br. Original populations Over collected during the Victorian fern craze (Pteridomania) e.g. near Moffat 1848 “in considerable abundance’’ 1857 “in some quantity” 1859 “14 plants in less than an hour” 1882 “evident signs of sparseness” Britain’s Rarest Fern Woodsia ilvensis (L.) R. Br. • Less than 100 “clumps” left (UK), 5 locations • IUCN Red List classed as “Endangered” • Reintroductions and augmentation of wild populations • No regeneration • Potential for genetic rescue? • Crossing experiments to increase genetic diversity PhD student: Nadia Russel.