POKEMEBOY

Common Name:             Pokemeboy, blackbrush wattle
Scientific Name:             Acacia anegadensis
Categories:                    Endangered

Why is this species important? 

Pokemeboy is confined to an area of 38 km², of which only 25 km² is suitable (terrestrial) habitat. The actual area of occupancy has been estimated as less than 10 km² of limestone. This legume is important for promoting succession of vegetation, as well as providing a suitable habitat and food source for the Anegada iguana, Cyclura pinguis, a species itself numbering less than 200 individuals.

Where is it found?

Pokemeboy was previously thought to be endemic to Anegada Island in the British Virgin Islands (part of the Caribbean island bio-geographic region) but in 2008 a small population was found growing on the nearby uninhabited island of Fallen Jerusalem

How do people use it?

A dense, thorny evergreen acacia, it is planted for shade, but the roots also physically break the crusts of limestone rock on which it lives, allowing other species to grow and subsequentally  increasing fertility.

Why is it threatened?

The island is under extreme pressure for residential and tourism development. This has already resulted in documented habitat fragmentation and loss, leading to a decline in the quality of available habitat. It has been suggested that this will accelerate in the next few years, resulting in a continued decline in the quality of the habitat and a reduction in the number of mature individuals. 

The species is also threatened by free roaming livestock, such as goats and cattle, which may trample or graze seedlings. Invasive plant species are also a threat and several are already established on the island, including Casuarina equisetifolia, Cryptostegia madagascariensis and Bryophyllum pinnatum. The whole of the tree's habitat is less than 3m above sea level and so it is likely that global climate change will also threaten the species.

Construction of marinas along the coastal areas has been an on-going issue in the BVI, as well as other tourism-related development. The newly discovered population on Fallen Jerusalem will be protected from some of these threats as tourist development is not allowed on the island.

What conservation action is needed?

http://www.kew.org/science/directory/projects/annex/AcaciaAanegaden.pdf

As part of a year 2000 Darwin Initiative Project on Anegada, a collaborative effort between the BVI National Parks Trust, Fauna and Flora International and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Dr. Mike Gillman of the UK’s Open University investigated the threats to and rates of regeneration of this species. Gillman found relatively widespread adult trees, but little regeneration, giving concerns for the long-term survival of the species. An ex situ population was established at the JR O’Neal Botanic Garden on Tortola to investigate germination and seedling establishment.

References

Read more about the 2008 Kew expedition to learn more about this tree.

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