| | The orchid genus Caladenia has an exceptional diversity of insect pollination adaptations among its colourfully adorned species, from food-rewarding generalists to specialists achieving pollination by sexual deception of male thynnid wasps.
This special issue of the Australian Journal of Botany arose from a workshop held in Adelaide during December 2007 on the biology and conservation of the Caladenia, attended by national and international participants. The workshop was held in response to a request from the Australian Orchid Foundation to determine whether a more coordinated research effort across a significant number of research scientists could be harnessed to improve conservation outcomes for the genus.
This special issue brings together a rich body of new data that has emerged in recent years from a diverse range of laboratories and researchers. It starts with an overview of the systematics, diversity and intriguing biological attributes of the genus that have attracted naturalists and scientists alike to admire and study Caladenia in a broad range of scientific disciplines. The other 11 papers are arranged into the themes Biology and Biogeography, Pollination Biology, Ecology and Population Biology, and Conservation. The papers cover the key research areas of taxonomy and phylogeny, population ecology, mycorrhizal associations, the impact of climate change and conservation management. | |
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