Population Viability Analysis for an Endangered Plant

Abstract: Demographic modeling is used to understand the population viability of Furbish's lousewort, Pedicularis furbishiae , a perennial plant species endemic to the St. John River Valley in northern Maine. Environment-specific summaries of demographic parameters (survivorship, growth, and fecundity) over four years, organized into stage-based projection matrices, provide predictions of future population dynamics given a deterministic extension of past conditions. Stochastic modeling, using (I) empirically observed variation in demographic parameters, and (2) estimated rates of natural catastrophes, leads to predictions of extinction probability.
P. furbishiae viability has varied widely over the study period Viable populations with finite rates of increase > 1 are found where cover is low, woody plants do not dominate, and disturbance does not occur. Rates of increase vary over time, suggesting that stochastic analyses would be realistic. Stochastic measures of population viability incorporating environmental variation suggest that early successional environments, especially wetter sites, can support viable populations in the absence of disturbance. However; observed rates of natural catastrophe dominate viability estimates of individual populations. Metapopulation dynamics feature extinction rates that are greater than recolonization rates, and may be affected by land use in the watershed Species management needs to consider a large-scale view of the riverine corridor.