Taxonomic status and distribution of the critically endangered Christmas Island spleenwort (Asplenium listeri, Aspleniaceae): it is not as rare as we thought
Daniel J. Ohlsen A , Leon R. Perrie B , Lara D. Shepherd B and Michael J. Bayly A CA School of Botany, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic. 3010, Australia.
B Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand.
C Corresponding author. Email: mbayly@unimelb.edu.au
Australian Systematic Botany 27(6) 372-377 https://doi.org/10.1071/SB14047
Submitted: 18 November 2014 Accepted: 3 February 2015 Published: 29 June 2015
Abstract
Asplenium listeri C.Chr. has been considered endemic to Christmas Island and is one of only two fern species listed as Critically Endangered under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Its status as a distinct species has been questioned because of morphological similarity to the widespread A. polyodon G.Forst., which also occurs on Christmas Island. Molecular analyses revealed that A. listeri and plants attributed to A. polyodon from coastal limestone in New Caledonia and Vanuatu share the same rbcL, trnL–trnF and rps4–trnS haplotype and that other samples of A. polyodon in Australia and the south-western Pacific belong to three separate molecular lineages. One of these lineages is formed by epiphytic A. polyodon from Christmas Island and has a chloroplast haplotype closely related to that of A. listeri, differing by four mutations. The A. listeri haplotype and each of the three A. polyodon lineages are associated with morphological characters and are all worthy of recognition as separate species. Asplenium listeri is here expanded to include limestone dwelling populations in the Pacific previously assigned to A. polyodon. This greatly extends the geographic range of A. listeri, and its conservation status should be revised accordingly. Application of correct names to all species in the A. polyodon complex requires further molecular sampling throughout its geographic range and clarification of how type material relates to each of the molecular groups.
Additional keywords: Asplenium polyodon, conservation, cpDNA, New Caledonia, taxonomy, Vanuatu.
References
Barrington DS, Haufler CH, Werth CR (1989) Hybridisation, reticulation, and species concepts in the ferns. American Fern Journal 79, 55–64.| Hybridisation, reticulation, and species concepts in the ferns.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Baum D, Shaw KL (1995) Genealogical perspectives on the species problem. In ‘Experimental and molecular approaches to plant biosystematics’. (Eds PC Hoch, AC Stephenson) pp. 289–303. (Missouri Botanical Garden: St Louis, MO)
Brownsey PJ (1998) Aspleniaceae. In ‘Flora of Australia, 48: ferns, gymnosperms and allied groups’. (Ed. PM McCarthy) pp. 295–327. (ABRS: Canberra; and CSIRO: Melbourne)
Butz M (2004) ‘National Recovery Plan for the Christmas Island Spleenwort: Asplenium listeri.’ (Department of the Environment and Heritage: Canberra)
Christensen C (1906) ‘Index Filicum.’ (H. Hagerup: Copenhagen)
DuPuy DJ (1993) Aspleniaceae. In ‘Flora of Australia, 50: Oceanic Islands 2’. (Eds AS George, AE Orchard) pp. 1–30. (Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra)
Hemsley WB (1890) Report on the botanical collections from Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, made by Captain J. P. Maclear, Mr J. J. Lister, and the Officers of H.M.S. ‘Egeria.’. Journal of the Linnean Society of London: Botany 25, 351–362.
| Report on the botanical collections from Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, made by Captain J. P. Maclear, Mr J. J. Lister, and the Officers of H.M.S. ‘Egeria.’.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Holmes J, Holmes G (2002) Conservation status of the flora of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Report to Environment Australia/Parks Australia North. (Atherton, Qld)
Hudson RR, Coyne JA (2002) Mathematical consequences of the genealogical species concept. Evolution 56, 1557–1565.
| Mathematical consequences of the genealogical species concept.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 12353748PubMed |
Mishler BD (1985) The morphological, developmental, and phylogenetic basis of species concepts in bryophytes. The Bryologist 88, 207–214.
| The morphological, developmental, and phylogenetic basis of species concepts in bryophytes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Nicolson DH, Fosberg FR (2004) The Forsters and the botany of the second Cook expedition (1772–1775). In ‘Regnum Vegetabile, Vol. 139’. (A.R.G. Gantner Verlag: Ruggell, Leichenstein)
Ohlsen DJ, Perrie LR, Shepherd LD, Brownsey PJ, Bayly MJ (2014a) [2015] Phylogeny of the fern family Aspleniaceae in Australasia and the south-west Pacific. Australian Systematic Botany 27, 355–371.
| [2015] Phylogeny of the fern family Aspleniaceae in Australasia and the south-west Pacific.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ohlsen DJ, Perrie LR, Shepherd LD, Brownsey PJ, Bayly MJ (2014b) [2015] Investigation of species boundaries and relationships in the Asplenium paleaceum complex (Aspleniaceae) using AFLP fingerprinting and chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequences. Australian Systematic Botany 27, 378–394.
| [2015] Investigation of species boundaries and relationships in the Asplenium paleaceum complex (Aspleniaceae) using AFLP fingerprinting and chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequences.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Perrie LR (2011) An updated, annotated species list for the ferns of ’Eua, Tonga. New Zealand Botanical Society Newsletter 103, 9–14.
Salgado AE, Fraser-Jenkins CR (2013) The nomenclature, typification, and taxonomy of Asplenium falcatum, A. polyodon and confused species. The Fern Gazette 19, 213–239.
Schneider H, Russell SJ, Cox CJ, Bakker F, Henderson S, Rumsey F, Barrett J, Gibby M, Vogel JC (2004) Chloroplast phylogeny of asplenioid ferns based on rbcL and trnL–F spacer sequences (Polypodiidae, Aspleniaceae) and its implications for biogeography. Systematic Botany 29, 260–274.
| Chloroplast phylogeny of asplenioid ferns based on rbcL and trnL–F spacer sequences (Polypodiidae, Aspleniaceae) and its implications for biogeography.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Threatened Species Scientific Committee (2002) Commonwealth listing advice on Asplenium listeri (Christmas Island Spleenwort). (Department of the Environment: Canberra, ACT) Available at http://www.environment.gov.au/node/16305 [Verified 6 May 2015]
