Format: ORAL

Margaret Byrne1, Rachel Binks1, Kelly Shepherd1, Laura Simmons2, Katherina Nargar3,4, Michael Bayly5, Andre Messina2

1 Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Perth, Australia 2 Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Australia 3 James Cook University, Cairns, Australia 4 CSIRO, Cairns, Australia 5 University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

Species complexes are often present in floras with high diversity driven by complex evolutionary history and associated high speciation and low extinction rates. Whilst most species are readily identified and described, there are many species complexes where taxa are challenging to resolve though morphological analysis alone. Genomic approaches can assist in this challenge through identification of relationships at the species-population interface providing an evolutionary basis for identifying taxon boundaries, including where ongoing hybridisation confuses morphological relationships. The Genomics for Australian Plants initiative is a national collaborative program that is developing genomic resources to enhance understanding of the evolution and conservation of the diverse Australian flora. One of its three components is application of a conservation genomics approach to taxonomic resolution of challenging species complexes in the Australian flora. This integrated approach brings taxonomists and geneticists together, applying an evolutionary biology lens to identification of taxonomic entities. The focus has been on resolving taxa in complexes where there are likely taxa of conservation concern so they can be defined and considered in conservation listing, facilitating implementation of management actions. The initiative has supported projects covering 11 species complexes and clarified relationships amongst entities, using ddRAD genomic data in combination with morphological assessment. The relative outcomes of ddRAD and the angiosperm 365 bait kit were also tested for four species complexes. These analyses have led to the identification of species of conservation concern, as well as clarification of situations where morphological variation is not reflective of taxonomic separation, or where hybridisation is a complicating factor obscuring morphological relationships. The outcomes demonstrate the benefits of an integrated approach using genomic and morphological methods to facilitate taxonomic resolution of species complexes. This approach may be readily implemented in other highly diverse floras where taxonomic identification of conservation entities is critical to effective conservation action.