Drakaea glyptodon nuclear microsatellite and chloroplast haplotype data

<p class="CxSpFirst">Many orchids are characterized by small, patchily distributed populations. Resolving how they persist is important for understanding the ecology of this hyper-diverse family, many members of which are of conservation concern. <span>Ten</span> populations of the common terrestrial orchid <i>Drakaea glyptodon</i> from Southwest Australia were genotyped with ten nuclear and five chloroplast SSR markers. Levels and partitioning of genetic variation, and effective population sizes (<i>N</i>_e), were estimated. Spatial genetic structure of nuclear diversity, together with chloroplast data, are used to infer the effective number of seed parents per population. We found high genetic diversity, <i>N</i>_e values that generally exceed predictions based on the number of flowering individuals, and moderate levels of gene flow. Two populations were founded by &lt; 5 colonists suggesting some populations are colonized by few seeds, with growth largely resulting from <i>in situ</i> recruitment. A value of 3.65 for <i>m</i>_p/<i>m</i>_s indicates that pollinators play a greater role than seed in introducing genetic diversity to populations via gene flow. Our results highlight that <i>D. glyptodon</i> is highly effective at persisting in patchily distributed populations. However, it is important to examine how insights from this common, widespread species transfer to species that are rare and/or occur in fragmented landscapes.</p>