Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > BT > BT07101
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 56(3)

Generating genetic relatedness maps to improve the management of two rare orchid species

Linda M. Broadhurst A D , Paul K. Scannell B and Glen A. Johnson C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO Plant Industry, GPO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia.

B Albury City Council, PO Box 323, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia.

C Department Sustainability and Environment, 1 McCoy Street, Wodonga, Vic. 3690, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: Linda.Broadhurst@csiro.au

Australian Journal of Botany 56(3) 232-240 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT07101
Submitted: 26 May 2007  Accepted: 22 November 2007   Published: 21 May 2008

Abstract

Arachnorchis concolor and A. pilotensis are two rare orchid species with contrasting spatial distributions found in south-eastern Australia. A. concolor is known from ~220 plants, with the largest population found in southern central Victoria and the remaining smaller populations ~100 km north. Some taxonomic uncertainty surrounds the affiliations of these disjunct populations. A. pilotensis is known from ~100 plants in a single location near the Beechworth region of north-eastern Victoria. Small populations such as these can show extreme demographic and/or genetic constraints and careful management is required to ensure their long-term persistence. The present study used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers to describe the levels of relatedness among plants from both species and to determine levels of genetic diversity for each species as well as levels of differentiation among A. concolor populations, to assist with species management. Species-level genetic diversity was lower in A. pilotensis (PLP 44%, Hj 0.182) than A. concolor (PLP 58.2%, Hj 0.202). Genetic diversity also varied among A. concolor populations but this does not appear to relate to population size. High levels of inbreeding were evident in A. concolor (f, 0.828) in contrast to moderate levels observed in A. pilotensis (f, 0.466). Genetic relatedness maps, generated by principal coordinates analyses, indicated significant differentiation among A. concolor populations with some sub-structuring also apparent within A. pilotensis. Management implications for the two species, with respect to sourcing of material for translocation and augmentation of pollination events within populations, are discussed in light of these findings.


Acknowledgements

We thank Eileen Collins, John Hawker and Alan Gibb for collecting leaf material for this study, Liz Gregory for technical assistance, and Gary Backhouse for extremely useful comments on the manuscript.


References


Australian State of the Environment Committee (2001) Australia State of the Environment 2001, independent report to the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment and Heritage. CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Department of the Environment and Heritage, Canberra.

Avise JC (1989) A role for molecular genetics in the recognition and conservation of endangered species. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 4, 279–281.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bangert RK, Turek RJ, Martinsen GD, Wimp GM, Bailey JK, Whitham TG (2005) Benefits of conservation of plant genetic diversity to arthropod diversity. Conservation Biology 19, 379–390.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Barrett SCH , Kohn JR (1991) Genetic and evolutionary consequences of small population size in plants: implications for conservation. In ‘Genetics and conservation of rare plants’. (Eds DA Falk, KE Holsinger) pp. 3–30. (Oxford University Press: New York)

Buza L, Young A, Thrall P (2000) Genetic erosion, inbreeding and reduced fitness in fragmented populations of the endangered tetraploid pea Swainsona recta. Biological Conservation 93, 177–186.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Chung MY, Nason JD, Chung MG (2004) Spatial genetic structure in populations of the terrestrial orchid Cephalanthera longibracteata (Orchidaceae). American Journal of Botany 91, 52–57.
| Crossref |
open url image1

Coates F , Jeanes J , Pritchard A (2003) Recovery plan for the twenty-five threatened orchids of Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales 2003–2007. (Department of Sustainability and Environment: Melbourne)

Coates F, Lunt ID, Tremblay RL (2006) Effects of disturbance on population dynamics of the threatened orchid Prasophyllum correctum D.L.Jones and implications for grassland management in south-eastern Australia. Biological Conservation 129, 59–69.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Department of Sustainability and Environment (2005) Advisory list of rare or threatened plants in Victoria—2005. (Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment: Melbourne)

Ellstrand NC, Elam DR (1993) Population genetics consequences of small population size: implications for plant conservation. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 24, 217–242.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Feng X, Saha S, Soliman K (1997) DNA fingerprinting in cotton using AFLPs. Focus 19, 11–12. open url image1

Ferdy J-B, Loriot S, Sandmeier M, Lefranc M, Raquin C (2001) Inbreeding depression in a rare deceptive orchid. Canadian Journal of Botany 79, 1181–1188.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Gensat (2005) ‘GenStat for Windows.’ (VSN International: Oxford)

Gordon DR, Rice KJ (1998) Patterns of differentiation in wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana): implications for restoration. Restoration Ecology 6, 166–174.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Hobbs RJ, Humphries SE (1995) An integrated approach to the ecology and management of plant invasions. Conservation Biology 9, 761–770.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Holsinger KE, Wallace LE (2004) Bayesian approaches for the analysis of population genetic structure: an example from Platanthera leucophaea (Orchidaceae). Molecular Ecology 13, 887–894.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Holsinger KE, Lewis PO, Dey DK (2002) A Bayesian approach to inferring population structure from dominant markers. Molecular Ecology 11, 1157–1164.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Hopper SD, Brown AP (2004) Robert Brown’s Caladenia revisited, including a revision of its sister genera Cyanicula, Ericksonella and Pheladenia (Caladeniinae: Orchidaceae). Australian Journal of Botany 17, 171–240.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Jacquemyn H, van Rossum F, Brys R, Endels P, Hermy M, Triest L, De Blust G (2003) Effects of agricultural land use and fragmentation on genetics, demography and population persistence of the rare Primula vulgaris, and implications for conservation. Belgium Journal of Botany 136, 5–22. open url image1

Jones DL (2006) Miscellaneous new species of Australian Orchidaceae. Australian Orchid Research 5, 45–111. open url image1

Jones DL, Clements MA, Sharma IK, Mackenzie AM (2001) A new classification of Caladenia R.Br. (Orchidaceae). The Orchadian 13, 389–419. open url image1

Luijten SH, Dierick A, Gerard J, Oostermeijer B, Raijmann LE, den Nijs HCM (2000) Population size, genetic variation, and reproductive success in a rapidly declining, self-incompatible perennial (Arnica montana) in The Netherlands. Conservation Biology 14, 1776–1787.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Lynch M, Milligan BG (1994) Analysis of population genetic structure with RAPD markers. Molecular Ecology 3, 91–99.
| Crossref | PubMed |
open url image1

Machon N, Bardin P, Mazer SJ, Moret J, Godelle B, Austerlitz F (2003) Relationship between genetic structure and seed and pollen dispersal in the endangered orchid Spiranthes spiralis. New Phytologist 157, 677–687.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Nei M (1978) Estimation of average heterozygosity and genetic distance from a small number of individuals. Genetics 89, 583–590.
| PubMed |
open url image1

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (2002) Recovery plan for the Crimson spider orchid (Caladenia concolor), the Bethungra spider orchid (Caladenia sp. Bethungra), and the Burrinjuck spider orchid (Caladenia sp. Burrinjuck). (NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service: Sydney)

O’Meally D, Colgan DJ (2005) Genetic ranking for biological conservation using information from multiple species. Biological Conservation 122, 395–407.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Oostermeijer JGB (2000) Population viability analysis of the rare Gentiana pneumonanthe: the importance of genetics, demography and reproductive biology. In ‘Genetics, demography and viability of fragmented populations’. (Eds AG Young, GM Clarke) pp. 313–334. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge)

Paschke M, Abs C, Schmid B (2002) Relationship between population size, allozyme variation, and plant performance in the narrow endemic Cochlearia bavarica. Conservation Genetics 3, 131–144.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Peakall R, Beattie AJ (1996) Ecological and genetic consequences of pollination by sexual deception in the orchid Caladenia tentaculata. Evolution 50, 2207–2220.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Reed DH, Frankham R (2003) Correlation between fitness and genetic diversity. Conservation Biology 17, 230–237.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Tomimatsu H, Ohara M (2003) Genetic diversity and local population structure of fragmented populations of Trillium camschatcense (Trilliaceae). Biological Conservation 109, 249–258.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Vekemans X (2002) ‘AFLP-SURV version 1.0.’ (Laboratoire de Genetique et Ecologie: Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium)

Wallace LE (2002) Examining the effects of fragmentation on genetic variation in Platanthera leucophaea (Orchidaceae): inferences from allozyme and random amplified polymorphic DNA markers. Plant Species Biology 17, 37–49.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Wallace LE (2003) The cost of inbreeding in Platanthera leucophaea (Orchidaceae). American Journal of Botany 90, 235–242.
| Crossref |
open url image1

White GM, Boshier DH, Powell W (1999) Genetic variation within a fragmented population of Swietenia humilis Zucc. Molecular Ecology 8, 1899–1909.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Williams J (2000) Managing the bush: recent research findings from the EA/LWRRDC national remnant vegetation R&D program. In ‘National research and development program on rehabilitation, management and conservation of remnant vegetation’. (Ed. Environment Australia) (Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation: Canberra)

Yates CJ, Broadhurst LM (2002) Assessing limitations on population growth in two critically endangered Acacia taxa. Biological Conservation 108, 13–26.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Yates CJ, Hobbs RJ (1997) Temperate eucalypt woodlands: a review of their status, processes threatening their persistence and techniques for restoration. Australian Journal of Botany 45, 949–973.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Yeh FC, Boyle TJB (1997) Population genetic analysis of codominant and dominant markers and quantitative traits. Belgian Journal of Botany 129, 157. open url image1

Young A, Mitchell N (1994) Microclimate and vegetation edge effects in a fragmented podocarp-broadleaf forest in New Zealand. Biological Conservation 67, 63–72.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Young A, Boyle T, Brown A (1996) The population genetic consequences of habitat fragmentation for plants. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 11, 413–417.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Young AG, Brown AHD, Zich FA (1999) Genetic structure of fragmented populations of the endangered daisy Rutidosis leptorrhynchoides. Conservation Genetics 13, 256–265. open url image1

Young AG , Brown AHD , Murray BG , Thrall PH , Miller C (2000) Genetic erosion, restricted mating and reduced viability in fragmented populations of the endangered grassland herb Rutidosis leptorrhynchoides. In ‘Genetics, demography and viability of fragmented populations’. (Eds AG Young, GM Clarke) pp. 335–359. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge)

Zhivotovsky LA (1999) Estimating population structure in diploids with multilocus dominant markers. Molecular Ecology 8, 907–913.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Zoro Bi I, Maquet A, Baudoin J-P (2003) Population genetic structure of wild Phaseolus lunatus (Fabaceae), with special reference to population sizes. American Journal of Botany 90, 897–904.
| Crossref |
open url image1