Extinction risk of the endemic vascular flora of Kauai, Hawaii, based on IUCN assessments.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List) is the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of species. Governmental agencies and conservation organizations increasingly rely on IUCN Red List assessments to develop conservation policies and priorities. Funding agencies use the assessments as evaluation criteria, and researchers use meta-analysis of red-list data to address fundamental and applied conservation science questions.

Seed freeze sensitivity and ex situ longevity of 295 species in the native Hawaiian flora.

Premise: Ex situ seed banking is critical for plant conservation globally, especially for threatened floras in tropical ecosystems like Hawai'i. Seed bank managers must maximize longevity, and species managers must plan restoration before seeds lose viability. Previous observations suggested some native Hawaiian seeds lost viability in frozen storage (-18°C).

An enigmatic Hawaiian moth is a missing link in the adaptive radiation of Schiedea.

Shifts in pollination may drive adaptive diversification of reproductive systems within plant lineages. The monophyletic genus Schiedea is a Hawaiian lineage of 32 extant species, with spectacular diversity in reproductive systems. Biotic pollination is the presumed ancestral condition, but this key element of the life history and its role in shaping reproductive systems has remained undocumented.

Remnants of populations provide effective source material for reintroduction of an endangered Hawaiian plant, Schiedea kaalae (Caryophyllaceae).

Premise Of The Study: Reintroductions may be essential to prevent extinction of many critically endangered species. Ideally, reintroduction efforts rely on adjacent source populations, but limited source material may necessitate crossing individuals from different and possibly distant populations. To determine the consequences of integrating multiple populations in reintroductions, we investigated levels of inbreeding depression, outbreeding depression, and heterosis for populations of Schiedea kaalae (Caryophyllaceae), an endangered species endemic to the Wai'anae and Ko'olau Mountains of O'ahu, Hawai'i.