In Florida rosemary scrub, fire and increasing gap size increased species richness and many individual species occurrences, reduced local extinctions, and increased colonizations. Therefore, land management activities that encourage the creation and maintenance of large gaps will promote biodiversity in this system.

Our research explores patterns of mixed-mating in the endemic, federally listed Polygala lewtonii. This perennial herb has open-pollinated chasmogamous flowers and self-pollinated cleistogamous flowers on both above- and below-ground stems. Data collected from 2008 - 2012 shows temporal separation of chasmogamy (January to May) and cleistogamy (June to February) with little overlap. A quarter of plants flowered all three flower morphs at least once during their lifespan while slightly less than half produced chasmogamous and above-ground cleistogamous flowers but no below-ground structures. Estimated fruit maturation was found to be seven times greater for chasmogamy compared to both forms of cleistogamy.

Species translocations are increasingly common in rare plant conservation.Wild populations can provide basic ecological knowledge to improve their chance of success. In the heavily fragmented Florida scrub, USA, many listed species require translocations to persist, including Dicerandra christmanii. In 1994, we began monitoring the only protected population of D. christmanii growing both in gaps (open areas) within the shrub matrix and on roadsides.In 2010, we augmented this population by adding plants and seeds to unoccupied gaps. In 2012, we introduced plants to a separate protected site to create a new population. We evaluated early translocation success using generalized linear mixed-effect models of vital rate variation among habitat types. Survival probability increased with size, peaking at 0.6-0.8, and was lowest in augmentations and highest in introductions. Growth increased with plant size across all habitat types, except for the largest adults which experienced senescence.Naturally recruited plants in gaps showed the highest reproduction probability and fecundity at smaller sizes, but larger plants in translocations had the highest fecundity. Yearling recruitment was higher in translocated plants relative to naturally recruited plants in gaps during the initial years following outplanting. Experimental components of translocations also affected outplanting performance with positive effects of fire. These analyses suggest a high potential for translocations to become established and contribute to species recovery.

Translocated populations often show vigorous initial dynamics but eventually collapse. Modeling tools that incorporate basic ecological knowledge and allow for propagation of uncertainty can help identify potential risks. Here, we use Bayesian Integral Projection Models to estimate population growth rates (λs), associated elasticities, and extinction risks for the endangered Dicerandra christmanii. Our study compared natural populations in gaps (open areas)