Australian Orchid Foundation

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Project: 265/2008

Title: Tracking phenological shifts and evolutionary impacts due to climate change.
Applicant: Phyllis Frances MacGillivray, BSc (Hons) PhD student
Institute: University of Adelaide

My project will examine herbarium collections and other historical data sets for evidence of shifts in flowering times of key South Australian orchid species in relation to recent climate trends. As such phenological shifts impact on opportunities for hybridization, this review will be complemented by field and molecular investigations to determine the extent of natural hybridization occurring within sympatric populations of Diuris orchid species growing in the central Mt Lofty Ranges. Analysis of genetic data will investigate the population structure of, and determine the extent of genetic diversity within, these hybrid zones.

This will enable the establishment of baseline data for assessments of the effects of continuing phenological change on survival of these species and determine their potential as possible regional bioindicators of climate change.

Publications: MacGillivray PF, Hudson I, Lowe AJ (2009) Herbarium collections and photographic images: Alternative data sources for phenological research. In: Keatley MR Hudson I (eds) Phenological Research: methods for environmental and climate change analysis. Springer, Dordrecht.