1. Floristic, genomic and
functional turnover across
elevation gradients
Marlien van der Merwe
Hannah McPherson
Maurizio Rossetto
NATIONAL HERBARIUM OF NSW
Andrew Lowe
UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
Australian Transect Network

2. Scope
• Conservation efforts that aim to improve
climate adaptation outcomes need to
consider evolutionary drivers that maximise
adaptive potential, as well as floristic and
genetic variation
• Use a multi-species, landscape-level
approach to measure floristic and genetic
turn-over along an environmental gradient

3. Aims
1. Species diversity and turn-over:
– a plot based approach
1. Neutral genetic diversity and turn-over:
– a multi-species landscape level approach
1. Transcriptomic variation:
– variation in expressed genes between
climatic extremes
1. Functional diversity and turn-over:
– a multi-trait approach

4. Approach
• Finer scale: investigate climatic gradients
across one soil type representing similar
floristic assemblages
• Biodiversity and Adaptation Transect Sydney
(BATS)
• Biodiversity and Adaptation Transect Northern
NSW (BATN)
• Plus a range of satellite projects

5. BATS (Sydney sandstone)
Highly diverse floristically on similar substrate, and
strong gradients within a relatively small area
Mean temperature in coldest quarter Annual precipitation

6. BATS Climatic Bins (Bioclim)
and sampled plots

7. BATS: plot sampling
1600
• 50 x 50 m plots 1200 DF P WH
Rainfall
•
Annual rainfall
Current: 24; aim: 28 LV MM
CR GH C
TN PR GW NJ
BM MT
PF KC
MW
BF WR
• Herbarium voucher and DNA
800 AP
AM GS BI GD
voucher for every woody 400
species
• Measure of abundance
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
plot
• Temperature loggers at each
plot 1200
NJ GW
TN
BF
AP
• 400+ species across all plots 800
MW
• Species per plot: 40-70 Altitude
altitude
GD
GS
CR MT
BI GH
• Genera per plot: 28-50 400
BM
PF AM PR
• Families per plot:15-27 WH KC DF
P LV WR MM C
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
plot number

8. BATS: plot sampling
• 50 x 50 m plots
• Current: 24; aim: 28
• Herbarium voucher and DNA
voucher for every woody
species
• Measure of abundance
• Temperature loggers at each
plot
• 400+ species across all plots
• Species per plot: 40-70
• Genera per plot: 28-50
• Families per plot:15-27

9. Differentiation along the gradient:
Telopea speciosissima
The NSW Waratah
Rossetto et al. (2011) BMC Evol Biol 11:126
McIntosh et al. (2013) Ann Bot

10. BATS: multi-species population study
• Investigate relative magnitude of gradient-
level variations in genetic diversity
• Investigate landscape-level associations
between climatic gradients and genetic
diversity, richness and functional diversity
Hannah McPherson

11. BATS: multi-species population study
• Within-species turn-over for
species occurring across the
gradient Isopogon anemonifolius
• Sample genetic diversity for
species distributed across the
gradient and place into overall
distributional context Petrophile pulchella
• Use genomic (NGS reduction-
based) methods to assess
distribution of diversity, and
current vs. historical dynamics
• Inform transcriptome studies on
same species Leptospermum trinervium

12. Adaptive capacity of coastal vs.
upland Telopea populations
Rymer et al (in prep)

13. BATS: genetic adaptation along the gradient
4.6°C 10.8°C
8.6°C 11°C
Mean temperature in coldest quarter
M vanderMerwe

14. BATS: obtaining transcriptome data
• Four libraries from each species :
Petrophile pulchella, Isopogon anemonifolius and additional
Petrophile canescens (Proteaceae)
• Each library: 25 seedlings from 5
mother plants
• Future: major increase in species
sampled (IBM support)

15. BATS: obtaining transcriptome data
RNA
extraction at
two cotyledon
stage
Seedling germination at
20°C 12h day/12h night
Pool extractions
from a population
One lane Illumina HiSeq
Between 20 million and 30
million reads per library Contigs, coverage, Fst values, Blasts, etc …

16. BATS: adaptation or plasticity?
• Identify allelic and
expression level variation
between populations
• Differentiate between
putative selection and
neutral variation
• Develop markers and
screen across gradient
• Identify multispecies
patterns of ‘genetic
response’ across gradient

17. BATN: rainforest gradient
• 24 (50x20) permanent plots on basalt
• 278 species; 205 genera; 81 families
• Full abundance (including demographic,
disturbance and temporal data)
• Currently no DNA samples but pilot
genomic study
• Extensive functional dataset
R Kooyman
Reproduced from Crisp et al. 2004

18. BATN: rainforest gradient

19. BATN: functional diversity
Rainfall
Peter D Wilson (MQU)

20. Bringing it all together
• Integrating results:
– Associations between molecular,
environmental and functional diversities
– Biodiversity, adaptive and landscape
genetics
– BATS / BATN / TREND (SA)

21. Acknowledgements
• Foundation and Friends of RBG&DT; ARC
Linkage (Lowe, Rossetto, Summerell)
• Volunteer team: Alexander Dohms, Brendan
Molloy, Lawrence Mou, Emma Oldman,
Juelian Siow, Aurelia Webster-Hawes
• Field work assistance: Louisa Murray,
Michael Elgey, Susan Rutherford, Andrew
Orme, Seanna McCune, Doug Benson, Melita
Milner, Richard Milner
• Doug Benson; Bob Coveny; Robert Kooyman