By Patrick Geans
In the worthy spirit of BES island cooperation, a rare orchid found nowhere else on the planet except the Windward Islands of Saba and St. Eustatius along with St. Barths and Anguilla has become a centre piece in the ongoing struggle to preserve some of nature's true jewels from extinction. The orchid, Psychilis correllii, is on the verge of extinction and currently has only been found on the smallest BES island.
Once inhabiting Nevis/St. Kitts, as well as St. Maarten/St. Martin, P. correllii is no longer found in these additional habitats. The orchid has historically been known to exist on St. Barths and Anguilla, however, verification of its presence on those islands currently has not been confirmed.
The loss of the orchid species on these islands is attributed to loss of habitat due to developmental pressure. Saba Biological Research Foundation (SBRF) director Stewart Chipka has been working with P. correllii since 2004 on the "Unspoiled Queen." Chipka recently joined forces with Hannah Madden of the St. Eustatia National Park Association (STENAPA) to study this orchid after locating a limited population in The Quill. Also assisting in this project is the Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF) which is providing logistical support through their Trails Management activities on Saba.
The main problem with preserving P. correllii is that it is self sterile. To produce seed that will germinate requires what is known as "out-crossing" of the plant. Limited populations of the orchid do not provide the genetic diversity required to produce viable seed. Thus, plants must come in contact, usually through a cross pollinator or with other orchid populations that do not originate from the same parent plants. Additionally, for the seed to germinate in the wild, it must come into contact with a fungus to provide nourishment for the new embryo.
On Saba, Chipka has been hand pollinating the orchid in an effort to produce seed since 2005. However, the recent discovery of the similar species on St. Eustatius is shining a ray of light that could lead to a pathway to save the species. Plants discovered by Chipka will be taken to an area of the northern hills of Statia where there are other P. correllii specimens. These generally inhabit steep cliff faces, so it will be a challenge placing the plant in a suitable environment.
"Unfortunately, although seed is being produced in abundance, all of the seed is sterile," said Chipka. "Until recently with Hannah's discovery of populations on Statius, it appeared that Psychilis correllii was doomed to extinction. Now, with these off island populations, we may be able to produce viable seed and begin propagating the orchid for reintroduction into habitat."
In April of this year Madden sent one of the Statius plants to Chipka in hopes that the next blooming cycle will provide pollenia to cross with the Saba plants. Unlike traditional flowers, orchids do not have pollen. Rather, they have a hard bodied structure called pollenia, which is usually transported by an insect between blooming orchid species. Different species of orchids utilize different pollinators to achieve pollination. At the current time, the pollinator for Psychilis correllii is unknown, although Chipka suspects it is a species of Euglossa bee, a relative of the bumblebees.
During June of this year, Madden visited Saba where she was presented with a blooming Saba P. correllii for the island of Statia, by Chipka and SCF Manager Kai Wolfe.
"This exchange may make possible saving the species on both islands," said Chipka. "We will know soon if the genetic diversity of the two plants is different enough to provide viable seed."
It takes about eight months for seed to develop within the orchid pods and then a microscope is used to see if embryos have developed. Madden and Chipka are hoping their efforts will be productive, allowing for controlled propagation of the species and reintroduction to other islands that have eradicated their original populations.
In conjunction with Dr. James Ackerman and Dr. Raymond Tremblay from the University of Puerto Rico, STENAPA is carrying out long-term research and monitoring of two orchid species: Epidendrum ciliare and Brassavola cucullata. This involves tagging all plants and measuring the leaves and flowers when they are in bloom. Ackerman has already visited Statia three times and identified three new orchid species. He and Tremblay hope to visit Saba in the future. Because the P. correllii population on Statia is fairly small, no monitoring is being carried out on this species as such. However, given the newly established cooperation with Chipka on Saba, the two researchers plan to investigate what can be done to keep a viable and healthy population of the species.
The Psychilis genus is composed of 15 distinct species that all originate in the Windward and Virgin Islands and Lesser Leeward Antilles. Psychilis correllii was named for the American botanist Donavan Stewart Correll (1908-1983) in 1989 by Ruben P. Sauleda, an American orchid taxonomist who specializes in the Psychilis and Encyclia orchids. Most of these different species are exclusive to very limited areas of the Netherland Antilles Islands. P. correllii is an example of this limited range of locations whose unique landscape and habitats have given rise to numerous other orchid species found nowhere else in the world.
Chipka is hopeful that with the coming dissolution of the Netherland Antilles and the BES islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba becoming public entities of Holland, opportunities can be found to expand environmental research and protection on the BES islands. At a special joint news conference on Tuesday, representatives of the Dutch Regional Service Center and the Executive Council of Saba expressed their support for this and other environmental preservation initiatives currently underway on Saba.
"This project is just one of the ways we can enhance cooperation between the islands as our new constitutional status becomes a reality," says Chipka. "Further efforts should be extended also with Holland. The BES islands provide a natural laboratory for science studies in all fields of environmental activities. This is just a small step in that direction, but I believe it is a valuable one."
Editor's note: Special thanks to Stewart Chipka, the SBRF, Hannah Madden and STENAPA for their special contributions to this article.
