Janet Anthony

Government of Western Australia · Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority

Historical and contemporary processes drive spatial patterns of genetic diversity. These include climate-driven range shifts and gene flow mediated by biogeographical influences on dispersal. Assessments that integrate these drivers are uncommon, but critical for testing biogeographic hypotheses. Here, we characterize intraspecific genetic diversit...

The behaviour of pollinators has important consequences for plant mating. Nectar-feeding birds often display behaviour that results in more pollen carryover than insect pollinators, which is predicted to result in frequent outcrossing and high paternal diversity for bird-pollinated plants. We tested this prediction by quantifying mating system para...

An understanding of genetic diversity and the population genetic processes that impact future population viability is vital for the management and recovery of declining populations of threatened species. Styphelia longissima (Ericaceae) is a critically endangered shrub, restricted to a single fragmented population near Eneabba, 250 km north of Pert...

Populations at the edges of their geographical range tend to have lower genetic diversity, smaller effective population sizes and limited connectivity relative to centre of range populations. Range edge populations are also likely to be better adapted to more extreme conditions for future survival and resilience in warming environments. However, th...

Reductions in genetic diversity and genetic connectivity have been documented in some predatory bird species in response to anthropogenic habitat fragmentation. The Southern Boobook (Ninox boobook) is the most common and widely-distributed owl in Australia but declines in abundance have been observed across its range. We used polymorphic microsatel...

Empirical tests of comparability between restored and natural plant populations can be powerful tools for measuring progress towards restoration objectives, though they are rarely applied to critical metrics like genetic diversity, mating systems, and reproductive output via seed production. Here we compared these ecological and genetic measures fo...

Movement is fundamental to the ecology and evolutionary dynamics within species. Understanding movement through seed dispersal in the marine environment can be difficult due to the high spatial and temporal variability of ocean currents. We employed a mutually enriching approach of population genetic assignment procedures and dispersal predictions...

Tetratheca erubescens is a narrowly endemic species including ∼6300 plants restricted to a 2-km² distribution on the south Koolyanobbing Range Banded Ironstone Formation (BIF) in Western Australia. A key objective of the present study was to characterise population genetic variation, and its spatial structuring across the entire distribution of T....

Ricinocarpos brevis (Euphorbiaceae) is a declared rare species currently known from only three Banded Ironstone Formation (BIF) ranges (Perrinvale, Johnston and Windarling Ranges) in the Yilgarn region of Western Australia. The present study assessed the potential impact of proposed mining on genetic diversity within R. brevis. Approximately 30 pla...

Premise of the study Microsatellite markers were developed for population genetic analysis in the rare shrub Styphelia longissima (Ericaceae). Methods and Results We generated ca. 2.5 million sequence reads using a Personal Genome Machine semiconductor sequencer. Using the QDD pipeline, we designed primers for >12,000 sequences with PCR product le...

Premise of the study Microsatellites were developed for the future assessment of population genetic structure, mating system, and dispersal of the perennial kangaroo paw, Anigozanthos manglesii (Haemodoraceae), and related species. Methods and Results Using a Personal Genome Machine (PGM) semiconductor sequencer, ca. 4.03 million sequence reads we...

Background and Aims: Organisms occupying the edges of natural geographic ranges usually survive at the extreme limits of their innate physiological tolerances. Extreme and prolonged fluctuations in environmental conditions often associated with climate change, and exacerbated at species’ geographical range edges, are known to trigger alternative re...

Aim To examine the population genetic structure in Posidonia australis mead- ows, a marine foundation species capable of long distance dispersal (LDD), and the role of historical versus contemporary processes in shaping post Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) re-colonization. Location Southeastern Australia including the Bass Strait Islands. Methods We gen...

Premise of the study: Microsatellite markers were developed for the rare Tetratheca erubescens (Elaeocarpaceae) to assess genetic diversity and spatial structuring. Methods and results: We generated ca. 2.7 million sequence reads using a Personal Genome Machine (PGM) semiconductor sequencer. Using the QDD pipeline, we designed primers for >12,00...

Ants are prominent seed dispersal agents in many ecosystems, and dispersal distances are small in comparison with vertebrate dispersal agents. However, the distance and distribution of ant-mediated dispersal in arid/semi-arid environments remains poorly explored. We used microsatellite markers and parentage assignment to quantify the distance and d...

Plants are predicted to show floral adaptation to geographic variation in the most effective pollinator, potentially leading to reproductive isolation and genetic divergence. Many sexually deceptive orchids attract just a single pollinator species, limiting opportunities to experimentally investigate pollinator switching. Here we investigate Drakae...

Species with specialized ecological interactions present significant conservation challenges. In plants that attract pollinators with pollinator-specific chemical signals, geographical variation in pollinator species may indicate the presence of cryptic plant taxa. We investigated this phenomenon in the rare sexually deceptive orchid Drakaea elasti...

Understanding the extent and impact of factors influencing the levels and structuring of genetic diversity within natural populations is a key objective of ecological genetics. For marine angiosperms, variation in abiotic environmental factors at the local scale can have a major influence on levels of clonality and spatial genetic structure, and th...

The development and screening of microsatellite markers has been accelerated by next generation sequencing (NGS) technology and in particular GS-FLX pyro-sequencing (454). More recent platforms such as the PGM semi-conductor sequencer (Ion Torrent) offer potential benefits such as dramatic reductions in cost, but to date have not been well utilised...

Seagrass meadows are in decline globally. Although numerous experimental methods have been implemented to restore meadows, few have been successful in the long term. Poor decisions on the sourcing of transplants from donor sites, including poor genetic integration and/or low genetic diversity, may impact on restoration success. However, despite evi...

Ten polymorphic microsatellite loci for the rare sword sedge Lepidosperma gibsonii (Cyperaceae) were characterized for the future study of population structure, hybridization, and clonality. Twenty samples from each of three populations were screened with the markers to assess genetic variation. Observed population heterozygosities ranged from 0.35...

Microsatellite markers were developed for the banded ironstone endemic shrub Acacia karina to examine genetic diversity, range-wide differentiation and mating system parameters. Nine loci were developed and in a sample of 20 individuals from one population the number of alleles ranged from 4 to 12 per locus and observed heterozygosities from 0.556...

Drakaea glyptodon is a sexually deceptive terrestrial orchid endemic to Western Australia. We developed fourteen polymorphic microsatellite markers to assess genetic variability within and among populations. Moderate to high levels of variation were detected at most loci. There was evidence for inbreeding with high inbreeding coefficients for some...

We developed 10 polymorphic microsatellite markers in the Australian seagrass Posidonia australis Hook. f. Markers were screened for their ability to detect within- and among-population genetic structure and variation. The markers showed a range in levels of polymorphism from fixed differences between the two sampled seagrass meadows to high levels...

An efficient three-phase culture has been developed for plant regeneration of Leucopogon verticillatus (R. Br.) (Ericaceae formerly Epacridaceae [Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 85 (1998): 531–553]) via somatic embryogenesis as indicative of likely culture scenarios for other Ericaceae. The Ericaceae, particularly many Australian species, are often diffic...

Using Conostephium pendulum as a 'model' species in the Ericaceae a study was instigated to investigate the role of oxidative stress on the embryogenic competency of the explant tissue and callus. Three antioxidants were examined as an explant pre-treatment and incorporated in the growth medium. Pre-treatment of explant tissues with tri-potassium c...