Characterization of microsatellite primers in the endangered orchid and cross-amplification to (Orchidaceae).

Premise Of The Study: The swamp orchid, (Orchidaceae), is nationally endangered due to illegal collection and habitat loss and fragmentation, resulting in a disjunct distribution in spring and coastal wetland ecotones along Australia's east coast. Polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed to study genetic diversity and population structure for conservation and restoration purposes.

Methods And Results: Illumina HiSeq high-throughput sequencing was used to develop 15 nuclear microsatellite markers, including 10 polymorphic markers for .

Will climate change, genetic and demographic variation or rat predation pose the greatest risk for persistence of an altitudinally distributed island endemic?

Species endemic to mountains on oceanic islands are subject to a number of existing threats (in particular, invasive species) along with the impacts of a rapidly changing climate. The Lord Howe Island endemic palm Hedyscepe canterburyana is restricted to two mountains above 300 m altitude. Predation by the introduced Black Rat (Rattus rattus) is known to significantly reduce seedling recruitment.