Collectors are serious threat to carnivorous plants
28 April 2011
Collectors taking carnivorous plant specimens from the wild are among the most serious threats to their continued survival, with only habitat loss posing a greater danger according to a report analysing why so many species are at risk.
The pitcher plants Nepenthes, Sarracenia and Darlingtonia, and Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula), which all trap insects and small animals to feed on, are most commonly targeted by over-zealous collectors although a total of 19 species were found to be affected in all. The report's authors, David Jennings and Jason Rohr of the University of South Florida said collecting plants from the wild is particularly damaging as collectors often remove larger specimens.
'As many carnivorous plants are relatively slow to mature, the persistent loss of older individuals can severely impact the population structure,' the report said.
Most specimens are taken to be sold for profit or for private collections, but two sundews, Drosera burmanii and D. indica, are also collected for their perceived medical benefits.
Fewer than one in five of the world's 600 known species of carnivorous plants have been assessed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) so far – yet even from this small sample, 56% were evaluated as threatened including seven critically endangered species.
Other threats include pollution such as urban waste, fertiliser and pesticide run-off, the impact of agriculture, and the destruction of habitats through dams, wetland drainage and other artificial modifications to the environment.
The report called for more research into these little-known plants, saying their conservation not only preserves the balance of the delicate wetland and tropical forest ecosystems where they live, but also supports the many specialist species which depend on them for their survival.