Identifying predictors of translocation success in rare plant species.

The fundamental goal of a rare plant translocation is to create self-sustaining populations with the evolutionary resilience to persist in the long term. Yet, most plant translocation syntheses focus on a few factors influencing short-term benchmarks of success (e.g., survival and reproduction). Short-term benchmarks can be misleading when trying to infer future growth and viability because the factors that promote establishment may differ from those required for long-term persistence. We assembled a large (n = 275) and broadly representative data set of well-documented and monitored (7.9 years on average) at-risk plant translocations to identify the most important site attributes, management techniques, and species' traits for six life-cycle benchmarks and population metrics of translocation success. We used the random forest algorithm to quantify the relative importance of 29 predictor variables for each metric of success. Drivers of translocation outcomes varied across time frames and success metrics. Management techniques had the greatest relative influence on the attainment of life-cycle benchmarks and short-term population trends, whereas site attributes and species' traits were more important for population persistence and long-term trends. Specifically, large founder sizes increased the potential for reproduction and recruitment into the next generation, whereas declining habitat quality and the outplanting of species with low seed production led to increased extinction risks and a reduction in potential reproductive output in the long-term, respectively. We also detected novel interactions between some of the most important drivers, such as an increased probability of next-generation recruitment in species with greater seed production rates, but only when coupled with large founder sizes. Because most significant barriers to plant translocation success can be overcome by improving techniques or resolving site-level issues through early intervention and management, we suggest that by combining long-term monitoring with adaptive management, translocation programs can enhance the prospects of achieving long-term success.

Identificación de pronosticadores del éxito de reubicación en especies raras de plantas Resumen El objetivo fundamental de la reubicación de plantas raras es la creación de poblaciones autosuficientes con resiliencia evolutiva que persistan a la larga. De todas maneras, la mayoría de las síntesis de estas reubicaciones se enfocan en unos cuantos factores que influyen sobre los parámetros a corto plazo del éxito (supervivencia y reproducción). Los parámetros a corto plazo pueden ser engañosos si se intenta inferir el crecimiento y la viabilidad en el futuro ya que los factores que promueven el establecimiento pueden diferir de aquellos requeridos para la persistencia a largo plazo. Ensamblamos un conjunto grande de datos representativos en general (n = 275) de las reubicaciones de plantas en riesgo bien documentadas y monitoreadas (7.9 años en promedio) para identificar los atributos de sitio más importantes, las técnicas de manejo y los rasgos de las especies para seis parámetros de ciclos de vida y medidas poblacionales del éxito de reubicación. Usamos el algoritmo de bosque aleatorio para cuantificar la importancia relativa de las 29 variables de pronosticadores para cada medida del éxito. Los factores en los resultados de las reubicaciones variaron con los marcos temporales y las medidas de éxito. Las técnicas de manejo tuvieron la mayor influencia relativa sobre la obtención de parámetros de ciclos de vida y tendencias poblacionales a corto plazo, mientras que los atributos de sitio y los rasgos de la especie fueron más importantes para la persistencia poblacional y las tendencias a largo plazo. En específico, las grandes cantidades de fundadores incrementaron el potencial de reproducción y reclutamiento de la siguiente generación, mientras que la declinación de la calidad del hábitat incrementó el riesgo de extinción y el trasplante de especies con baja producción de semillas redujo el rendimiento del potencial reproductivo a la larga. También detectamos interacciones novedosas entre algunos de los factores más importantes, como el aumento en la probabilidad del reclutamiento en la siguiente generación en especies con tasas mayores de producción de semillas, pero sólo cuando se emparejó con grandes cantidades de fundadores. Ya que las barreras más significativas para el éxito de la reubicación de plantas pueden superarse al mejorar las técnicas o resolver los temas a nivel de sitio por medio de un manejo y una intervención temprana, sugerimos que con la combinación del monitoreo a largo plazo con el manejo adaptativo los programas de reubicación pueden aumentar el prospecto de lograr el éxito a largo plazo.

Variation in wood nutrients along a tropical soil fertility gradient.

Wood contains the majority of the nutrients in tropical trees, yet controls over wood nutrient concentrations and their function are poorly understood. We measured wood nutrient concentrations in 106 tree species in 10 forest plots spanning a regional fertility gradient in Panama. For a subset of species, we quantified foliar nutrients and wood density to test whether wood nutrients scale with foliar nutrients at the species level, or wood nutrient storage increases with wood density as predicted by the wood economics spectrum. Wood nutrient concentrations varied enormously among species from fourfold in nitrogen (N) to > 30-fold in calcium (Ca), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg) and phosphorus (P). Community-weighted mean wood nutrient concentrations correlated positively with soil Ca, K, Mg and P concentrations. Wood nutrients scaled positively with leaf nutrients, supporting the hypothesis that nutrient allocation is conserved across plant organs. Wood P was most sensitive to variation in soil nutrient availability, and significant radial declines in wood P indicated that tropical trees retranslocate P as sapwood transitions to heartwood. Wood P decreased with increasing wood density, suggesting that low wood P and dense wood are traits associated with tree species persistence on low fertility soils. Substantial variation among species and communities in wood nutrient concentrations suggests that allocation of nutrients to wood, especially P, influences species distributions and nutrient dynamics in tropical forests.

Advancing the science and practice of rare plant conservation with the Center for Plant Conservation Reintroduction Database.

Premise: Reintroductions or translocations are an increasingly important activity to recover and conserve at-risk plant species. Yet because many are not published in the scientific literature, learning from previous attempts may often require considerable time and effort. The Center for Plant Conservation Reintroduction Database (CPCRD; https://saveplants.org/reintroduction-database/), a new centralized and standardized repository of U.S.-based plant reintroductions, aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of accessing data on rare plant reintroductions. Methods: The CPCRD is the product of multiple efforts to assemble information on rare plant reintroductions in the United States. The database comprises a wealth of standardized data on the key stages of a reintroduction, from the planning and implementation phases, to monitoring and management techniques. Results: The CPCRD is a dynamic resource, allowing data contributors to continually update their entries as projects progress. While contributions are ongoing, the CPCRD currently includes 460 projects involving 201 plant taxa, spanning diverse growth forms, ecosystems, and regions. Discussion: The CPCRD and its well-documented and monitored projects provide a valuable practical resource for conservation practitioners, and have supported multiple scientific studies and contributed to the internationally recognized Center for Plant Conservation Best Practices Guidelines.

San Diego Thornmint (Acanthomintha ilicifolia) Populations Differ in Growth and Reproductive Responses to Differential Water Availability: Evidence from a Common Garden Experiment.

The responses of rare plants to environmental stressors will determine their potential to adapt to a rapidly changing climate. We used a common garden approach to evaluate how six populations of the annual San Diego thornmint (Acanthomintha ilicifolia Lamiaceae; listed as endangered in the state of California and as threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service) from across the species range respond in terms of growth (biomass, height, and width) and reproduction (seed production, floral production, and next generation seed viability) to experimental differences in water availability. We found a significant irrigation-by-population interaction on the aboveground growth, wherein the differences in the magnitude and direction of treatment did not correlate directly with climate variables in natural populations. With respect to reproduction, the low-irrigation treatment produced more seeds per plant, more reproductive individuals, and a larger proportion of viable seed in most, but not all, populations. The seed production and the effect of irrigation on seed production correlated positively with rainfall at wild source populations. These results suggest that Acanthomintha ilicifolia responds to water limitation by creating more and higher-quality seed, and that plants locally adapted to a higher annual rainfall show a greater plasticity to differences in water availability than plants adapted to a lower annual rainfall, a finding that can inform the in situ demographic management and ex situ collection strategy for Acanthomintha ilicifolia and other rare California annuals.

Functional susceptibility of tropical forests to climate change.

Tropical forests are some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, yet their functioning is threatened by anthropogenic disturbances and climate change. Global actions to conserve tropical forests could be enhanced by having local knowledge on the forests' functional diversity and functional redundancy as proxies for their capacity to respond to global environmental change. Here we create estimates of plant functional diversity and redundancy across the tropics by combining a dataset of 16 morphological, chemical and photosynthetic plant traits sampled from 2,461 individual trees from 74 sites distributed across four continents together with local climate data for the past half century. Our findings suggest a strong link between climate and functional diversity and redundancy with the three trait groups responding similarly across the tropics and climate gradient. We show that drier tropical forests are overall less functionally diverse than wetter forests and that functional redundancy declines with increasing soil water and vapour pressure deficits. Areas with high functional diversity and high functional redundancy tend to better maintain ecosystem functioning, such as aboveground biomass, after extreme weather events. Our predictions suggest that the lower functional diversity and lower functional redundancy of drier tropical forests, in comparison with wetter forests, may leave them more at risk of shifting towards alternative states in face of further declines in water availability across tropical regions.

Effect of a Mandatory Third-Year Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment Course on Student Attitudes.

CONTEXT: Despite interest by osteopathic medical students in learning and incorporating osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) techniques into their future practices, most students indicate that OMT is rarely or never taught during many clinical rotations. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a mandatory OMT course taken during the third year of medical school would influence students' exposure to OMT, confidence in OMT, intent to continue developing OMT skills, and plan to provide OMT as practicing physicians. METHODS: A mandatory pilot OMT course was implemented in the 2014 third-year curriculum. A survey was then developed to assess students' attitudes toward OMT. Surveys were administered to students whose third year was in 2013 and thus had not taken the course (group 1) and to students who had taken the course in 2014 (group 2). RESULTS: Of the 223 students in group 1, 143 (64%) responded. Of the 213 students in group 2, 112 (53%) responded. Students in group 2 reported greater exposure to OMT compared with students in group 1, higher confidence levels in practicing OMT (61 [54%] vs 71 [50%]), greater intent to continue developing OMT skills, and plan to provide OMT as practicing physicians (91 [81%] vs 94 [66%]). CONCLUSION: A pilot course in OMT increased students' levels of confidence in and intent to provide OMT in their future practices.

Osteopathic manipulative treatment in the management of biliary dyskinesia.

Biliary dyskinesia is a functional gastrointestinal disorder of the gallbladder and sphincter of Oddi. Diagnosis is made on the basis of symptoms of biliary colic in the absence of cholelithiasis and gallbladder inflammation. Palpatory findings of tissue texture changes at midthoracic levels (T6-T9) may correspond to visceral dysfunction related to the biliary system. Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) of the T6-T9 segments can remove the feedback related to the somatic component, thereby affecting nociceptive facilitation at the spinal level and allowing the body to restore autonomic balance. Few reports in the current literature provide examples of treatment for patients with biliary dyskinesia using OMT. The author describes the case of a 51-year-old woman who presented with symptoms consistent with biliary dyskinesia. Her biliary colic completely resolved after OMT. Osteopathic evaluation and OMT should be considered a safe and effective option for conservative management of biliary dyskinesia.