Can we save critically endangered relict endemic plant species? A case study of Primula boveana Decne ex Duby in Egypt

Abstract

Primula boveana Decne ex Duby is a threatened paleo-endemic plant in St. Catherine Protected Area (SCPA), south Sinai, Egypt which represents the remaining evidence from the Tertiary relict floras. Listed by IUCN Red List in 2014 as Critically Endangered, and there are urgent needs to carry out on-ground conservation actions. In this research we present steps to conserve Primula boveana through in-situ practices from planning to implementation, respectively through: a) evaluating the current conservation status through IUCN Red List and determining the environmental factors controlling the distribution of the species that are necessary for establishing the recovery program, b) determine the potential species habitat suitability under the current climate conditions using Maxent software, and c) based on the previous two steps, and in an experiment that is the first in this area, an attempt was done to cultivate dormant treated seeds directly in the suitable habitat for recovery. All of these steps aim to increase population size, Extent of Occurrence (EOO), and Area of Occupancy (AOO), which will contribute to minimize the impact of threats on the target species and reducing the risk of extinction. Environmental factors controlling the distribution of the P. boveana and habitat suitability range were extracted in detail using IUCN Red List Assessment and Species Distribution Model (SDM). Despite the low survival rates of seedlings, which reached 1% of the germinated seeds after 8 months from germination, about 140 new individuals were obtained to be added to the current population as a result of this step with an increase of more than 25 %. Also, the geographical range (EOO) after adding the recovery sites has increased by 230 %, which, if continued, could help reduce pressures on the species as well as the risk of extinction. During this study, we emphasized that the target species is marching toward extinction very quickly and needs rapid intervention to try to save it from the imminent extinction risk due to drought and climate change. Carrying out ex-situ conservation practices has become urgent due to the difficulty in ensuring the success of the in-situ conservation process in the future. Collecting and storing seeds, along with cultivation in greenhouses and botanical gardens, will aid in the conservation of the plant if it is extinct in the wild.