Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of contributors
- 1 Factors influencing the germination and storage characteristics of orchid pollen
- 2 Effect of temperature and moisture content on the viability of Cattleya aurantiaca seed
- 3 Asymbiotic germination of epiphytic and terrestrial orchids
- 4 Germination and mycorrhizal fungus compatibility in European orchids
- 5 Host–fungus relationships in orchid mycorrhizal systems
- 6 The effects of the composition of the atmosphere on the growth of seedlings of Cattleya aurantiaca
- 7 Orchid propagation by tissue culture techniques – past, present and future
- 8 Population biology and conservation of Ophrys sphegodes
- 9 Predicting population trends in Ophrys sphegodes Mill.
- 10 Predicting the probability of the bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) flowering or remaining vegetative from the size and number of leaves
- 11 British orchids in their European context
- 12 The Nature Conservancy Council and orchid conservation
- 13 A private conservation project in the coastal rainforest in Brazil: the first ten years
- 14 The role of the living orchid collection at Kew in conservation
- 15 Import and export of orchids and the law
- Index
9 - Predicting population trends in Ophrys sphegodes Mill.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of contributors
- 1 Factors influencing the germination and storage characteristics of orchid pollen
- 2 Effect of temperature and moisture content on the viability of Cattleya aurantiaca seed
- 3 Asymbiotic germination of epiphytic and terrestrial orchids
- 4 Germination and mycorrhizal fungus compatibility in European orchids
- 5 Host–fungus relationships in orchid mycorrhizal systems
- 6 The effects of the composition of the atmosphere on the growth of seedlings of Cattleya aurantiaca
- 7 Orchid propagation by tissue culture techniques – past, present and future
- 8 Population biology and conservation of Ophrys sphegodes
- 9 Predicting population trends in Ophrys sphegodes Mill.
- 10 Predicting the probability of the bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) flowering or remaining vegetative from the size and number of leaves
- 11 British orchids in their European context
- 12 The Nature Conservancy Council and orchid conservation
- 13 A private conservation project in the coastal rainforest in Brazil: the first ten years
- 14 The role of the living orchid collection at Kew in conservation
- 15 Import and export of orchids and the law
- Index
Summary
Introduction
The successful conservation of threatened species necessitates the protection and management of their habitats. If species abundance is low, i.e. the species under consideration is locally rare, management regimes must be developed and applied with extreme care if local extinction is to be avoided. The vulnerability of such populations to interference will severely restrict the extent to which experimental management trials can be used to develop measures to ensure conservation. Under these circumstances, population modelling may provide a valuable alternative to field trials. In this paper, the development and use of a simple model of the population behaviour of the early spider orchid, Ophrys sphegodes Mill. is described, and used to predict future population trends.
O. sphegodes is a rare species which occurs in ancient, species-rich chalk grassland. Its distribution and abundance in the British Isles have declined considerably over the past 50 years. It is considered to be part of the European element of the British flora (Summerhayes 1951), and its distribution is currently virtually confined to the South East corner of England. Rosettes appear above ground in autumn, persist over winter and may produce flower spikes in April or May in the following year. Shortly after flowering the above ground parts senesce (Lang 1980; Hutchings 1987a). Most plants have short life-spans, and reach sexual maturity rapidly. Few plants survive for more than three years after their first emergence above ground (Hutchings 1987a; and Hutchings, chapter 8 this Volume).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Modern Methods in Orchid Conservation , pp. 117 - 126Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1989
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