title: Genetic Diversity and Structure in the Philippine Rafflesia lagascae Complex (Rafflesiaceae) inform its Taxonomic Delimitation and Conservation

authors: Pelser, Pieter B.

subjects: Microsatellites

abstract: Rafflesia lagascae (Rafflesiaceae) is a rare endo-holoparasitic plant species with a disjunct distribution on Luzon Island in the Philippines. It is morphologically very similar to R. manillana, which is only known from a single population on nearby Samar Island. This study aims to contribute to the taxonomy and conservation of R. lagascae and R. manillana (i.e., the R. lagascae complex) by resolving their patterns of genetic diversity and genetic structure. The results of population genetic analyses of a microsatellite data set indicate that despite their frequently extremely small sizes and geographic isolation, Rafflesia populations display moderate genetic diversity and do not show evidence of pronounced inbreeding. Most populations appear to be strongly genetically differentiated from each other, suggesting limited gene flow between them. Patterns of genetic diversity of staminate and pistillate Rafflesia flowers growing on the same Tetrastigma host plants indicate that the R. lagascae complex is monoecious and that host plants are regularly infected by more than one Rafflesia plant. Both might enable Rafflesia to maintain viable populations in areas with low host densities. PCoA and Bayesian cluster analyses show that the R. lagascae complex is composed of three genetically isolated taxa. One of these constitutes R. manillana, supporting the morphology-based hypothesis that it is taxonomically distinct from R. lagascae. The second taxon in this complex is composed of the single population of R. lagascae from Mt. Labo. This morphologically cryptic population is genetically distinct from the 11 remaining R. lagascae populations that were included in this study and that form the third taxon. We recommend that R. lagascae s. s., the Mt. Labo R. lagascae, and R. manillana should be managed as different conservation entities.

text: Genetic Diversity and Structure in the Philippine Rafflesia lagascae Complex (Rafflesiaceae) inform its Taxonomic Delimitation and Conservation Rafflesia lagascae (Rafflesiaceae) is a rare endo-holoparasitic plant species with a disjunct distribution on Luzon Island in the Philippines. It is morphologically very similar to R. manillana, which is only known from a single population on nearby Samar Island. This study aims to contribute to the taxonomy and conservation of R. lagascae and R. manillana (i.e., the R. lagascae complex) by resolving their patterns of genetic diversity and genetic structure. The results of population genetic analyses of a microsatellite data set indicate that despite their frequently extremely small sizes and geographic isolation, Rafflesia populations display moderate genetic diversity and do not show evidence of pronounced inbreeding. Most populations appear to be strongly genetically differentiated from each other, suggesting limited gene flow between them. Patterns of genetic diversity of staminate and pistillate Rafflesia flowers growing on the same Tetrastigma host plants indicate that the R. lagascae complex is monoecious and that host plants are regularly infected by more than one Rafflesia plant. Both might enable Rafflesia to maintain viable populations in areas with low host densities. PCoA and Bayesian cluster analyses show that the R. lagascae complex is composed of three genetically isolated taxa. One of these constitutes R. manillana, supporting the morphology-based hypothesis that it is taxonomically distinct from R. lagascae. The second taxon in this complex is composed of the single population of R. lagascae from Mt. Labo. This morphologically cryptic population is genetically distinct from the 11 remaining R. lagascae populations that were included in this study and that form the third taxon. We recommend that R. lagascae s. s., the Mt. Labo R. lagascae, and R. manillana should be managed as different conservation entities.

year: 2017

title: Editor's note - Lakeswater Quality society 2017 Symposium proceedings

authors: Green, Ann

abstract: Editor's note

text: Editor's note - Lakeswater Quality society 2017 Symposium proceedings Editor's note

year: 2017

title: Grounding our collective Talanoa, Enabling open conversations

authors: Fa'avae, David Taufui Mkiato

abstract: As co-editors in this special issue of the Waikato Journal of Education (WJE), we share our talanoa thoughts and open conversations from the University of Waikato in Kirikiriroa (Hamilton), a place and space that has a special relationship with Waikato-Tainui and the Kīngitanga. We acknowledge our ties with Māori as tangata moana (people of the ocean), noting the past as well as the existing vā connections between the Kīngitanga and other Pacific peoples and leaders, including the House of Tupou, the royal family of Tonga. We are also mindful of our responsibility to honour Te Tiriti and to the honouring of tangata whenua and their mana whenua. At the same time, we embrace the ancestral connections between Māori and Pacific people through shared common heritages (Te Punga Somerville, 2012), of voyaging, wayfinding, knowledge and ako by which they settled Moananuiākea (the Hawaiian term for the Pacific Ocean) in one of “the greatest feats in human history” (Hawaii State Legislature, 2021, n.p.). We hope this volume honours those relationships and our shared whakapapa, whanaungatanga, and kaupapa.

text: Grounding our collective Talanoa, Enabling open conversations As co-editors in this special issue of the Waikato Journal of Education (WJE), we share our talanoa thoughts and open conversations from the University of Waikato in Kirikiriroa (Hamilton), a place and space that has a special relationship with Waikato-Tainui and the Kīngitanga. We acknowledge our ties with Māori as tangata moana (people of the ocean), noting the past as well as the existing vā connections between the Kīngitanga and other Pacific peoples and leaders, including the House of Tupou, the royal family of Tonga. We are also mindful of our responsibility to honour Te Tiriti and to the honouring of tangata whenua and their mana whenua. At the same time, we embrace the ancestral connections between Māori and Pacific people through shared common heritages (Te Punga Somerville, 2012), of voyaging, wayfinding, knowledge and ako by which they settled Moananuiākea (the Hawaiian term for the Pacific Ocean) in one of “the greatest feats in human history” (Hawaii State Legislature, 2021, n.p.). We hope this volume honours those relationships and our shared whakapapa, whanaungatanga, and kaupapa.

year: 2021