PERMITS
Seven of Florida's native bromeliads, including the giant airplant, Tillandsia utriculata, are on Florida’s Endangered Plants List. Three bromeliads are on Florida's Threatened Plants List. Permits are required for moving and handling these plants. This method works with regulatory agencies to make sure proper permitting is done. PLEASE DO NOT HANDLE OR MOVE THESE PLANTS ON YOUR OWN. Contact Teresa Cooper at tmcooper@ufl.edu to become part of this conservation effort and work with us.

For more information visit the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry:
http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Plant-Industry

This conservation method was developed based on previous methods used to monitor bromeliads and weevils in the field in Florida and on laboratory research (Frank and Thomas 1994; Salas and Frank 2001; Frank et al. 2006; Cooper 2006, 2009, Cooper et al. 2014), as well as interactions with land managers and volunteers at several Natural Areas from January 2015 to December 2015. Two Giant Airplant Workshops, one in January 2015 and another in December 2015, were held where land managers, volunteers, and scientists met to discuss conservation of the giant airplant in Florida, including the development and use of this conservation method. This is a standardized method to be used by many Natural Areas.  It will:

The giant airplants are conserved in situ on  parks, preserves, sanctuaries, refuges and other managed lands (called Natural Areas). The goal is to have many Natural Areas throughout central and southern Florida working to conserve a small number of giant airplants on their lands.  This way, we can collectively maintain giant airplant abundance and diversity. As well, because participants will be using the same method, we will be able to compare and share data. Bromeliads are mapped and data are organized using a tiered system. Sites are locations within the tiers that are used for managing the giant airplants (Gardens, Protected Sites, and Recruitment Sites).

Below is a schematic showing the tiers and sites, followed by definitions.



TIERS
Central and southern Florida: Range that includes all of Florida's native bromeliads that are threatened by the weevil.

Natural Areas: Parks, refuges, sanctuaries, preserves, and other managed lands that have or have had giant airplant populations and that are participating in this conservation project.

Region: Bromeliad-supporting habitat in the Natural Areas.

Area: Manageable, mapped area in Regions that contain a contiguous bromeliad population.

Section: An Area is divided into Sections if the Area is very large and/or has an abundant bromeliad population.

Segment:  Sections are divided into Segments if the Area is very, very large.

Bromeliad Host: The host on which a bromeliad is (or bromeliads are) growing; usually a tree, but it can be vines, palms, shrubs, well-drained earth, or other.

BROMELIADS
Bromeliads: Mapped bromeliads. Bromeliads include the 12 species and 2 natural hyrbids threatened by the weevil. Bromeliads are identified to species; in the diagram, GAP = giant airplant.

SITES
Gardens: Locations in Natural Areas where giant airplants are purposefully grown and protected.

Recruitment Sites:  Locations in Natural Areas where seeds and recruit, tiny, and small giant airplants are put in the forest, for re-populating the forest with giant airplants.

Protected Sites:  Locations where medium, large, and very large giant airplants are kept and protected until they reach reproductive age, at which time the seeds are returned to the forest from where the giant airplants originated. Some seed may be propagated in the Gardens or in grow houses. Protected Areas may be cages, kept in the forest of a given Natural Area, built to hold large giant airplants; or bromeliad growers outside of the Natural Area, either professional establishments, such as botanical gardens, or private homeowners with space and knowledge to keep and grow the plants (think “Adopt-a-Bromeliad” program). If the giant airplants leave their Natural Area to go to a Protected Area, permits are required.

The giant airplant is a very slow growing plant that begins very small (leaves that are 0.1 to 0.08 inches (2 to 3 mm) in length) and finishes very large (leaves longer than 3 feet (1 meter) and with inflorescences over to 6 feet high (1.8 meters)).  For this method, the giant airplant is divided into size categories.  The sizes are based on the longest leaf length of the plant.  This is a non-destructive way to measure giant airplants and estimations can be made even of those plants that are high in the canopy (Frank and Curtis 1981).

The numbers at the top of the above figure represent years of growth. It can take 5 to 7 years for a giant airplant to reach the size that can support a single weevil. It takes 10 to 20 years for a plant to reach reproductive age.  One reason for growing the giant airplants in Gardens on Natural Areas is because the forest will provide time and space to grow these slow growing, eventually very large plants.

Giant airplant mortality is VERY HIGH when the plants are young (Benzing 1980, 2000). The mortality rate declines as the plants mature and becomes VERY LOW for large and very large giant airplants.  A single giant airplant can release 10,000 seeds (Isley 1987).  Those seeds ride on the wind and a small portion find a tree or vine or some other substrate to land on.  Of those seeds, very few germinate.  The recruit, tiny, and small giant airplants are very susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity and die from  drying out or from rotting.  These early stages also suffer mortality when branches break and vines fall down and trees slough bark or palms shed their boots and the bromeliads on these substrates fall to the ground and rot. The weevil does not attack these small plants because they are too small to support weevil larval growth (Cooper 2006). As a giant airplant moves from the small into the medium size category, it can support a single weevil larva, but plants at this size are not preferred by the weevil.

Those plants that found purchase on a strong, enduring substrate move into the medium size category and and the natural mortality rate starts to decline (Benzing 1980, 2000). However, at this size, the plants become attractive to the weevil and a single plant can support 1 to a few weevil larvae (Cooper 2006). The larger the plants become, the more attractive they are to the weevil. The plants start holding water in their leaf axils and phytotelmata (plant-contained aquatic ecosystems) begin to form (Frank and Curtis 1981). Plants can put out an inflorescence at this size category, but this usually does not happen until the plant enters the large and very large size categories..

The large and very large giant airplants are near the reproductive age and are very attractive to the weevil (Cooper 2006). Mortality rate declines greatly(Benzing 1980, 2000). A giant airplant will put out an inflorescence in spring, flower, then seed pods form and the seeds develop over the year. The seeds are released the following spring and are viable for only a short time (which is why we have to continue growing giant airplants to make seeds). During the process of seed production, the plant senesces and dies. The weevil can attack and kill a giant airplant even after the inflorescence has emerged and the seeds are being developed (Frank and Thomas 1994, Cooper 2006, 2009, Cooper et al. 2014). The weevil is so damaging to giant airplant populations because it is causing such a drastic reduction in seed production. If the giant airplant is extirpated in Florida, it will not be because the weevil ate the very last giant airplant, it will be because giant airplant seed output has fallen below a sustainable level.