Plants are often genetically specialized as ecotypes attuned to local environmental conditions. When conditions change, the optimal environment may be physically displaced from the local population, unless dispersal or in situ evolution keep pace, resulting in a phenomenon called adaptational lag. Using a 30-year-old reciprocal transplant study across a 475 km latitudinal gradient, we tested the adaptational lag hypothesis by measuring both short-term (tiller population growth rates) and long-term (17-year survival) fitness components of Eriophorum vaginatum ecotypes in Alaska, where climate change may have already displaced the optimum. Analyzing the transplant study as a climate transfer experiment, we showed that the climate optimum for plant performance was displaced ca. 140 km north of home sites, although plants were not generally declining in size at home sites. Adaptational lag is expected to be widespread globally for long-lived, ecotypically specialized plants, with disruptive consequences for communities and ecosystems.

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) is an uncommon to rare understory plant of the eastern deciduous forest. Harvesting to supply the Asian traditional medicine market made ginseng North America's most harvested wild plant for two centuries, eventually prompting a listing on CITES Appendix II. The prominence of this representative understory plant has led to its use as a phytometer to better understand how environmental changes are affecting many lesser-known species that constitute the diverse temperate flora of eastern North America. We review recent scientific findings concerning this remarkable phytometer species, identifying factors through its history of direct and indirect interactions with humans that have led to the current condition of the species. Harvest, deer browse, and climate change effects have been studied in detail, and all represent unique interacting threats to ginseng's long-term persistence. Finally, we synthesize our current understanding by portraying ginseng's existence in thousands of small populations, precariously poised to either escape or be drawn further toward extinction by the actions of our own species.

The maximum per capita rate of population growth, r, is a central measure of population biology. However, researchers can only directly calculate r when adequate time series, life tables and similar datasets are available. We instead view r as an evolvable, synthetic life-history trait and use comparative phylogenetic approaches to predict r for poorly known species. Combining molecular phylogenies, life-history trait data and stochastic macroevolutionary models, we predicted r for mammals of the Caniformia and Cervidae. Cross-validation analyses demonstrated that, even with sparse life-history data, comparative methods estimated r well and outperformed models based on body mass. Values of r predicted via comparative methods were in strong rank agreement with observed values and reduced mean prediction errors by approximately 68 per cent compared with two null models. We demonstrate the utility of our method by estimating r for 102 extant species in these mammal groups with unknown life-history traits.

This study investigated glucocorticoid (GC) responses to season and changes in enclosure size and human proximity in the Persian onager (Equus hemionus onager). Enzyme immunoassays were validated to measure GC metabolites in urine and feces (fGCM). Fecal samples were collected from 10 female onagers while in a large pasture, after transport to smaller yards (in greater proximity to people), and 2 months thereafter. Urine samples were collected for 1 year while females were in smaller yards to examine seasonal GC activity. Approximately, 2-fold increases (P < 0.05) were observed in fGCM levels after transport from pasture to yards with increased human exposure, followed by a rapid decline (within -17 days) to baseline (pasture) values. However, responses varied among onagers during the 30 days after translocation, with one female failing to acclimate. Mean fGCM concentrations in smaller yards 2 months after transport were comparable to those in pasture. Seasonal GC concentrations were lowest (P < 0.05) during winter, indicating modest seasonal variability. Results demonstrate an acute increase in GC secretion in Persian onagers that moved from large to small enclosures coincident with increased human activities. Most animals acclimated within 3 weeks, suggesting that this rare equid has retained mechanisms to acclimate to marked alterations in an ex situ environment.

a b s t r a c tAmerican ginseng, Panax quinquefolius L., is a long-lived medicinal understory herb, which has been heavily harvested since the 1700s. Because of the economic value of the root, and the increasing rarity of this plant, P. quinquefolius is often reintroduced across its range. Land managers and hobby growers recommend using 'associate species' as a way to determine ideal site conditions for reintroduction. However, the accuracy of these putative indicator species in identifying sites that will maximize growth of this rare herb has not been tested. Using a long-term ecological dataset of 26 populations, we evaluated if 20 putative indicators (herbs, shrubs, and trees) could predict P. quinquefolius performance, as measured by the relative growth rate of the leaf area, at the population and microsite level. Of the indicators, only one tree species was able to predict positive performance. If a P. quinquefolius was within 10 m of a Liriodendron tulipifera L., the plant would have increased growth, in terms of leaf area, as compared to plants that were not within 10 m of this tree. Surprisingly, the presence of most putative indicator species was found to be unreliable as a site quality measure. At the population level, four putative indicators, Aralia nudicaulis L., Acer rubrum L., Betula lenta L., and Lindera benzoin (L.) Blume, were actually contra-indicators, as their presence at a site implied lower P. quinquefolius performance. If Podophyllum peltatum L. was absent from a site, but B. lenta present, P. quinquefolius had reduced growth as compared to plants present in other combinations of P. peltatum and B. lenta. The results from this study have important implications for in situ conservation strategies of this rare medicinal plant. Planting P. quinquefolius in sites that increase performance can help ensure that reintroduction projects likely have a greater chance of success, effectively reducing the waste of time, money, and resources spent on projects that have lower levels of success.