Conservation biology of the Pyrenean larkspur (Delphinium montanum): a case of conflict of plant versus animal conservation?

Delphinium montanum is a larkspur endemic to the Pyrenees. It has c. 4000 i ndividuals and is classified as vulnerable following the IUCN categories. P ollination ecology results demonstrated that it is strictly dependent on po llinator activity (mainly bumblebees) to set seeds. Genetic diversity estim ated by allozyme variation at 7 loci showed quite high levels of variation related to its polyploidy. Predation by Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra rupicap ra pyrenaica), first detected in 1993, caused a continuous loss of > 90% of seed set in a protected area. The maintenance of high genetic diversity su ggests the buffer effect of polyploidy and seed bank strategy to counter an imal grazing, but long-term effects on conservation are expected. These res ults stressed: (1) the need for a plan to monitor this animal-plant interac tion; and (2) the need to monitor closely the population number of individu als of certain protected animal species in Natural Reserves, particularly i f ecological competition has been disturbed by human intervention. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.