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Dryad

Hibiscus nextRAD-seq conservation genomics

Cite this dataset

Banta, Joshua (2020). Hibiscus nextRAD-seq conservation genomics [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.dncjsxkxp

Abstract

The Neches River Rose Mallow (Hibiscus dasycalyx) is a rare wildflower endemic to Texas that is federally protected in the US. While previous work suggests that H. dasycalyx may be hybridizing with its widespread congeners, the Halberd-leaved Rose Mallow (H. laevis) and the Wolly Rose Mallow (H. moscheutos), this has not been studied in detail. We evaluated the relative threats to H. dasycalyx posed by hybridization with H. laevis and H. moscheutos by 1) examining their relatedness to one another via modern phylogenomic methods, 2) examining the species’ ecological (dis)similarities to one another using ecological niche modeling, and 3) looking for genomic evidence of hybridization among the three species. Our results suggest that H. dasycalyx is very closely related and ecologically similar to H. laevis, and suggest that H. laevis is interbreeding with H. dasycalyx in the wild. Conversely, H. moscheutos appears to be more distantly related to H. dasycalyx and more ecologically dissimilar, and the two are most likely not hybridizing. For these reasons, we believe that H. laevis poses a greater threat to H. dasycalyx than H. moscheutos. We offer some hypotheses as to why H. dasycalyx and H. laevis are coming into secondary contact where hybridization can occur.

Funding

Ellen Temple and the T. L. L. Temple Foundation

Ellen Temple and the T. L. L. Temple Foundation