Invasive rat control is an efficient, yet insufficient, method for recovery of the critically endangered Hawaiian plant hau kuahiwi (Hibiscadelphus giffardianus)
Biological invasions of rodents and other species have been especially problematic on tropical islands. Invasive Rattus rattus consumption of Hibiscadelphus giffardianus (Malvaceae; common Hawaiian name hau kuahiwi) fruit and seeds has been hypothesized to be the most-limiting factor inhibiting the...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:6261625 2023-05-15T18:05:25+02:00 Invasive rat control is an efficient, yet insufficient, method for recovery of the critically endangered Hawaiian plant hau kuahiwi (Hibiscadelphus giffardianus) Gill, Nathan S. Yelenik, Stephanie Banko, Paul Dixon, Christopher B. Jaenecke, Kelly Peck, Robert 2018-11-28 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6261625/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30485341 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208106 en eng Public Library of Science http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6261625/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30485341 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208106 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) public domain dedication. CC0 PDM Research Article Text 2018 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208106 2018-12-23T01:09:38Z Biological invasions of rodents and other species have been especially problematic on tropical islands. Invasive Rattus rattus consumption of Hibiscadelphus giffardianus (Malvaceae; common Hawaiian name hau kuahiwi) fruit and seeds has been hypothesized to be the most-limiting factor inhibiting the critically endangered tree, but this has not been experimentally tested, and little is known about other factors affecting seed dispersal, germination, and seedling establishment. Thus, we do not know if rat removal is sufficient to increase hau kuahiwi recruitment. This study aims to evaluate the effect of rat population control on the ability of hau kuahiwi to retain fruit and establish seedlings. We compared hau kuahiwi fruiting and seedling recruitment in a stand treated to reduce rat abundance and a neighbouring control stand. Fruit retention increased following treatment but seedling establishment did not. Although rat control improves the ability of hau kuahiwi to retain fruit, other, presently unknown inhibitors to seed dispersal, germination, and/or seedling development remain. Seed and seedling predation by other species, competition from numerous invasive plant species, unsuitable climate, and/or other factors may be primary inhibitors in the absence of rats, but we emphasize that progressive isolation of these factors at individual hau kuahiwi life stages may be necessary to identify the remaining threats to the conservation of this critically endangered plant. Text Rattus rattus PubMed Central (PMC) PLOS ONE 13 11 e0208106 |
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Research Article Gill, Nathan S. Yelenik, Stephanie Banko, Paul Dixon, Christopher B. Jaenecke, Kelly Peck, Robert Invasive rat control is an efficient, yet insufficient, method for recovery of the critically endangered Hawaiian plant hau kuahiwi (Hibiscadelphus giffardianus) |
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Research Article |
description |
Biological invasions of rodents and other species have been especially problematic on tropical islands. Invasive Rattus rattus consumption of Hibiscadelphus giffardianus (Malvaceae; common Hawaiian name hau kuahiwi) fruit and seeds has been hypothesized to be the most-limiting factor inhibiting the critically endangered tree, but this has not been experimentally tested, and little is known about other factors affecting seed dispersal, germination, and seedling establishment. Thus, we do not know if rat removal is sufficient to increase hau kuahiwi recruitment. This study aims to evaluate the effect of rat population control on the ability of hau kuahiwi to retain fruit and establish seedlings. We compared hau kuahiwi fruiting and seedling recruitment in a stand treated to reduce rat abundance and a neighbouring control stand. Fruit retention increased following treatment but seedling establishment did not. Although rat control improves the ability of hau kuahiwi to retain fruit, other, presently unknown inhibitors to seed dispersal, germination, and/or seedling development remain. Seed and seedling predation by other species, competition from numerous invasive plant species, unsuitable climate, and/or other factors may be primary inhibitors in the absence of rats, but we emphasize that progressive isolation of these factors at individual hau kuahiwi life stages may be necessary to identify the remaining threats to the conservation of this critically endangered plant. |
format |
Text |
author |
Gill, Nathan S. Yelenik, Stephanie Banko, Paul Dixon, Christopher B. Jaenecke, Kelly Peck, Robert |
author_facet |
Gill, Nathan S. Yelenik, Stephanie Banko, Paul Dixon, Christopher B. Jaenecke, Kelly Peck, Robert |
author_sort |
Gill, Nathan S. |
title |
Invasive rat control is an efficient, yet insufficient, method for recovery of the critically endangered Hawaiian plant hau kuahiwi (Hibiscadelphus giffardianus) |
title_short |
Invasive rat control is an efficient, yet insufficient, method for recovery of the critically endangered Hawaiian plant hau kuahiwi (Hibiscadelphus giffardianus) |
title_full |
Invasive rat control is an efficient, yet insufficient, method for recovery of the critically endangered Hawaiian plant hau kuahiwi (Hibiscadelphus giffardianus) |
title_fullStr |
Invasive rat control is an efficient, yet insufficient, method for recovery of the critically endangered Hawaiian plant hau kuahiwi (Hibiscadelphus giffardianus) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Invasive rat control is an efficient, yet insufficient, method for recovery of the critically endangered Hawaiian plant hau kuahiwi (Hibiscadelphus giffardianus) |
title_sort |
invasive rat control is an efficient, yet insufficient, method for recovery of the critically endangered hawaiian plant hau kuahiwi (hibiscadelphus giffardianus) |
publisher |
Public Library of Science |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6261625/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30485341 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208106 |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6261625/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30485341 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208106 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) public domain dedication. |
op_rightsnorm |
CC0 PDM |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208106 |
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PLOS ONE |
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13 |
container_issue |
11 |
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e0208106 |
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