A Conservation Assessment and Phylogenomic Evaluation of Protection Status in the Tropical Genus Heliconia L. (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae)
Societal Impact Statement The primarily neotropical plant genus Heliconia has been cultivated commercially in gardens and nurseries for hundreds of years. Many of these same species are ecological keystones in their native habitats as important resources for herbivorous insects and pollinating hummi...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025-09-01
|
| Series: | Plants, People, Planet |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70000 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849233630156554240 |
|---|---|
| author | W. John Kress Tomáš Fér Mónica M. Carlsen Gary A. Krupnick |
| author_facet | W. John Kress Tomáš Fér Mónica M. Carlsen Gary A. Krupnick |
| author_sort | W. John Kress |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Societal Impact Statement The primarily neotropical plant genus Heliconia has been cultivated commercially in gardens and nurseries for hundreds of years. Many of these same species are ecological keystones in their native habitats as important resources for herbivorous insects and pollinating hummingbirds, yet they face threats of habitat loss and degradation, competition with invasive species, poaching from the wild, and impacts of climate change. Only a handful have been assessed to date for their conservation status. We show that nearly half of the species are threatened with extinction, many are not protected, and conserving priority species may reduce overall threats to the genus. Summary Heliconia is a charismatic genus containing 181 neotropical species and six paleotropical species, which play critical ecological roles in natural habitats and are widely cultivated as ornamentals with significant horticultural value. To date little data on the conservation status of these species have been available. To conduct conservation assessments, specimen data were assembled from herbarium collections, species distributions were mapped across biomes and ecoregions, the extent of occurrence and area of occupancy were calculated, and land‐cover vegetation loss from human activities was plotted. The number of botanical gardens holding ex situ specimens was also determined. Finally, phylogenomic patterns were used to evaluate the evolutionary conservation status across the genus. Eighty‐seven species (47%) of Heliconia are threatened with extinction. Among threatened species, all but one are in five or fewer protected localities; most non‐threatened species (61%) are in five or more protected localities. The majority of species maintained in ex situ collections (70 of 118 species) are of least conservation concern. Conservation status and protection are not evenly distributed with some evolutionary lineages more threatened and less protected than others. Previously less than 10% of Heliconia were in the IUCN Red List. Current results indicate that nearly half of species are threatened, but that many species are minimally protected through in situ and ex situ conservation. Forty‐five species are considered top priorities for additional protection. Extinction threat also extends to major lineages within the genus. Recommendations are made to concentrate conservation efforts in specific lineages to insure the survival of Heliconia. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4278191daefa44059d649813850a65ca |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2572-2611 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants, People, Planet |
| spelling | doaj-art-4278191daefa44059d649813850a65ca2025-08-20T04:57:22ZengWileyPlants, People, Planet2572-26112025-09-01751438145710.1002/ppp3.70000A Conservation Assessment and Phylogenomic Evaluation of Protection Status in the Tropical Genus Heliconia L. (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae)W. John Kress0Tomáš Fér1Mónica M. Carlsen2Gary A. Krupnick3Department of Botany, United States National Herbarium National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Washington DC USADepartment of Botany, Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Czech RepublicLatin America Department, Science & Conservation Division Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis MO USADepartment of Botany, United States National Herbarium National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Washington DC USASocietal Impact Statement The primarily neotropical plant genus Heliconia has been cultivated commercially in gardens and nurseries for hundreds of years. Many of these same species are ecological keystones in their native habitats as important resources for herbivorous insects and pollinating hummingbirds, yet they face threats of habitat loss and degradation, competition with invasive species, poaching from the wild, and impacts of climate change. Only a handful have been assessed to date for their conservation status. We show that nearly half of the species are threatened with extinction, many are not protected, and conserving priority species may reduce overall threats to the genus. Summary Heliconia is a charismatic genus containing 181 neotropical species and six paleotropical species, which play critical ecological roles in natural habitats and are widely cultivated as ornamentals with significant horticultural value. To date little data on the conservation status of these species have been available. To conduct conservation assessments, specimen data were assembled from herbarium collections, species distributions were mapped across biomes and ecoregions, the extent of occurrence and area of occupancy were calculated, and land‐cover vegetation loss from human activities was plotted. The number of botanical gardens holding ex situ specimens was also determined. Finally, phylogenomic patterns were used to evaluate the evolutionary conservation status across the genus. Eighty‐seven species (47%) of Heliconia are threatened with extinction. Among threatened species, all but one are in five or fewer protected localities; most non‐threatened species (61%) are in five or more protected localities. The majority of species maintained in ex situ collections (70 of 118 species) are of least conservation concern. Conservation status and protection are not evenly distributed with some evolutionary lineages more threatened and less protected than others. Previously less than 10% of Heliconia were in the IUCN Red List. Current results indicate that nearly half of species are threatened, but that many species are minimally protected through in situ and ex situ conservation. Forty‐five species are considered top priorities for additional protection. Extinction threat also extends to major lineages within the genus. Recommendations are made to concentrate conservation efforts in specific lineages to insure the survival of Heliconia.https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70000conservationendangeredex situHeliconiain situphylogenomics |
| spellingShingle | W. John Kress Tomáš Fér Mónica M. Carlsen Gary A. Krupnick A Conservation Assessment and Phylogenomic Evaluation of Protection Status in the Tropical Genus Heliconia L. (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) Plants, People, Planet conservation endangered ex situ Heliconia in situ phylogenomics |
| title | A Conservation Assessment and Phylogenomic Evaluation of Protection Status in the Tropical Genus Heliconia L. (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) |
| title_full | A Conservation Assessment and Phylogenomic Evaluation of Protection Status in the Tropical Genus Heliconia L. (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) |
| title_fullStr | A Conservation Assessment and Phylogenomic Evaluation of Protection Status in the Tropical Genus Heliconia L. (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Conservation Assessment and Phylogenomic Evaluation of Protection Status in the Tropical Genus Heliconia L. (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) |
| title_short | A Conservation Assessment and Phylogenomic Evaluation of Protection Status in the Tropical Genus Heliconia L. (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) |
| title_sort | conservation assessment and phylogenomic evaluation of protection status in the tropical genus heliconia l zingiberales heliconiaceae |
| topic | conservation endangered ex situ Heliconia in situ phylogenomics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70000 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wjohnkress aconservationassessmentandphylogenomicevaluationofprotectionstatusinthetropicalgenusheliconialzingiberalesheliconiaceae AT tomasfer aconservationassessmentandphylogenomicevaluationofprotectionstatusinthetropicalgenusheliconialzingiberalesheliconiaceae AT monicamcarlsen aconservationassessmentandphylogenomicevaluationofprotectionstatusinthetropicalgenusheliconialzingiberalesheliconiaceae AT garyakrupnick aconservationassessmentandphylogenomicevaluationofprotectionstatusinthetropicalgenusheliconialzingiberalesheliconiaceae AT wjohnkress conservationassessmentandphylogenomicevaluationofprotectionstatusinthetropicalgenusheliconialzingiberalesheliconiaceae AT tomasfer conservationassessmentandphylogenomicevaluationofprotectionstatusinthetropicalgenusheliconialzingiberalesheliconiaceae AT monicamcarlsen conservationassessmentandphylogenomicevaluationofprotectionstatusinthetropicalgenusheliconialzingiberalesheliconiaceae AT garyakrupnick conservationassessmentandphylogenomicevaluationofprotectionstatusinthetropicalgenusheliconialzingiberalesheliconiaceae |