Molecular Ecology Practical Report

You will conduct analyses (r studio) and write a report addressing the following topic. Melichrus R.Br. is an Australian endemic genus of shrubs in the heather family, Ericaceae. There are currently six accepted species in the genus that have been described on the basis of morphological differences, four of which have broad distributions in eastern Australia. Morphological variability within those species (M. adpressus, M. urceolatus, M. erubescens and M. procumbens) suggest that there may be unrecognised species of Melichrus that will be revealed through integration of molecular and morphological methods. The two newest species, M. hirsutus and M. gibberagee, have very narrow distributions and appear to meet the criteria for conservation listing. If undiscovered species are also narrow endemics, they are unlikely to receive the protection they deserve unless they are recognised as distinct evolutionary lineages. PhD student Helen Kennedy is revising the taxonomy of Melichrus using an integrative approach. They include a subset of her data focusing on populations that key out to four related species, with metadata describing their sampling locations and field determinations. With this data, you are to address the following questions: 1. Does molecular evidence support the current taxonomy? Which species are supported and which are not? 2. Are there distinctive genetic groups that may require description as new taxa? 3. Is there evidence of inbreeding, and does it represent a threat to any accepted or putative taxa? 4. Is there evidence of hybridisation, and does it represent a threat to any accepted or putative taxa?