Genetic diversity and population structure of Piceaglauca on an altitudinal gradient in interior Alaska

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 1519-1526 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Alden ◽  
Carol Loopstra

Allozyme variation at 13 loci for 11 enzyme systems was studied in four white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss) populations extending from a floodplain at 120 m above sea level to the altitudinal tree limit at 750 m above sea level in interior Alaska. Although 97% of the total genetic diversity was among trees within stands and 1% was among stands within populations, frequencies of several allozymes and allozyme genotypes were significantly different (P < 0.05) among populations. Ninety-two percent of the loci were polymorphic. Total heterozygosity was 0.276. Heterozygosity and allozyme frequencies were not related to altitude. The population at the tree limit was as genetically diverse as populations at low elevations [Formula: see text] and contained four of seven rare alleles observed in all populations. These observations suggested that white spruce is genetically diverse in interior Alaska and the tree-limit population will continue to colonize new habitats. Genetic distance was not related to altitude and geographic distance and was less between the tree-limit and upper slope populations than among other populations A detectable gene substitution rate was estimated at 10−6 per year. Populations on the upper slope and at the tree limit may have diverged about 2500 years ago and reached tree-limit altitudes only recently. Populations at low altitudes may have diverged during early Holocene white spruce expansion. We concluded that white spruce is genetically diverse in a small geographic area in interior Alaska. Results suggested that local white spruce populations should be regenerated from indigenous seed and that provenance research is needed to support afforestation programs.

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Vellend ◽  
Marcia J Waterway

We compared the genetic diversity of a northern wetland sedge, Carex rariflora, both within and between populations, in different habitat types, and across geographic regions with different glacial histories. Twelve populations were sampled: 5 from each of two regions in northern Quebec, and 2 from northern Yukon. Habitat types were medium to rich fens, wet tidal flat, and alpine stream edge. Allele frequency data revealed a low degree of within-population genetic diversity (HS = 0.07) and a high degree of genetic differentiation among populations (GST = 0.47) compared with previously studied northern wetland Carex species. Higher genetic variability found in the Yukon than in Quebec could be explained by the presence of a glacial refugium in much of Alaska and the Yukon throughout the Pleistocene. Low genetic diversity in Quebec suggests the occurrence of genetic bottlenecks resulting from founder effects during postglacial colonization. There was a strong positive correlation between geographic distance and genetic distance among populations, and the three geographic regions were genetically distinct from one another. Detrended correspondence analysis of vegetation data revealed clear differences among the three habitat types, but we found no significant correlation between habitat differences and genetic distance.Key words: allozyme variation, genetic diversity, geographic variation, Carex rariflora.


Genes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ho Wan ◽  
Samuel Cushman ◽  
Joseph Ganey

We evaluated how differences between two empirical resistance models for the same geographic area affected predictions of gene flow processes and genetic diversity for the Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida). The two resistance models represented the landscape under low- and high-fragmentation parameters. Under low fragmentation, the landscape had larger but highly concentrated habitat patches, whereas under high fragmentation, the landscape had smaller habitat patches that scattered across a broader area. Overall habitat amount differed little between resistance models. We tested eight scenarios reflecting a factorial design of three factors: resistance model (low vs. high fragmentation), isolation hypothesis (isolation-by-distance, IBD, vs. isolation-by-resistance, IBR), and dispersal limit of species (200 km vs. 300 km). Higher dispersal limit generally had a positive but small influence on genetic diversity. Genetic distance increased with both geographic distance and landscape resistance, but landscape resistance displayed a stronger influence. Connectivity was positively related to genetic diversity under IBR but was less important under IBD. Fragmentation had a strong negative influence on the spatial patterns of genetic diversity and effective population size (Ns). Despite habitats being more concentrated and less widely distributed, the low-fragmentation landscape had greater genetic diversity than the high-fragmentation landscape, suggesting that highly concentrated but larger habitat patches may provide a genetic refuge for the Mexican spotted owl.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross D. MacCulloch ◽  
Ilya S. Darevsky ◽  
Robert W. Murphy ◽  
Jinzhong Fu

Genetic diversity at 35 allozyme loci was surveyed in Lacerta derjugini (3 populations) and L. praticola (2 populations). Indices of variability were consistent with those found in other Caucasian Lacerta. There was little genetic substructuring between two populations of L. praticola despite considerable geographic separation. Conversely, populations of L. derjugini in close proximity to one another exhibited considerable substructuring.


1995 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Borsa ◽  
D. Pierre Gingerich

AbstractSeven presumed Mendelian enzyme loci (Est-2, Est-3, Gpi, Idh-l, Idh-2, Mdh-2 and Mpi) were characterized and tested for polymorphism in coffee berry borers, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari), sampled in Côte d′Ivoire, Mexico and New Caledonia. The average genetic diversity was H = 0.080. Two loci, Mdh-2 and Mpi were polymorphic, and thus usable as genetic markers. The population structure of H. hampei was analysed using Weir & Cockerham's estimators of Wright's F-statistics. A high degree of inbreeding (f = 0.298) characterized the elementary geographic sampling unit, the coffee field. The estimate of gene flow between fields within a country was Nm = 10.6 and that between countries was Nm = 2. The population genetic structure in H. hampei could be related to its known population biological features and history.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick F. Sullivan ◽  
Annalis H. Brownlee ◽  
Sarah B.Z. Ellison ◽  
Sean M.P. Cahoon

2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-312
Author(s):  
Zhao Mengli ◽  
Han Bing ◽  
Walter D Willms

Mountain rough fescue (Festuca campestris Rydb.) is a tufted native grass in southern Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, and has attracted interest for use in reclamation. However, its seed is often available from only a few localized sources and may not be adapted for areas removed from the collection site. We conducted a study to determine the genetic variability among rough fescue populations to assess its potential adaptation. Thirty plants were collected from each of six populations and analyzed using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD). One population (Kamloops, BC) was separated by several mountain ranges from the five easterly Alberta populations.The Kamloops population was also separated from the Alberta populations by genetic distance in two clusters. Of the total genetic variation present in the data, 21% was found among populations while the remaining (79%) was found within populations. Nei’s genetic distances among populations were related to their geographical distances. Genetic differences among populations appeared to be caused primarily by differences in gene frequencies rather than rare genes. Also, genetic diversity appeared to increase from west to east suggesting that the more easterly populations had greater adaptation potential. We speculate that the more easterly populations are less likely to share genes since the prevailing winds are from the west. Germplasm from the more easterly populations may be used with suitable precautions within Alberta and possibly around Kamloops. Key words: Genetic distance, geographic distance, reclamation, potential adaptation


Author(s):  
Glenn Patrick Juday ◽  
Valerie Barber

The two most important life functions that organisms carry out to persist in the environment are reproduction and growth. In this chapter we examine the role of climate and climate variability as controlling factors in the growth of one of the most important and productive of the North American boreal forest tree species, white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss). Because the relationship between climate and tree growth is so close, tree-ring properties have been used successfully for many years as a proxy to reconstruct past climates. Our recent reconstruction of nineteenth- century summer temperatures at Fairbanks based on white spruce tree-ring characteristics (Barber et al. in press) reveals a fundamental pattern of quasi-decadal climate variability. The values in this reconstruction of nineteenth-century Fairbanks summer temperatures are surprisingly warm compared to values in much of the published paleoclimatic literature for boreal North America. In this chapter we compare our temperature reconstructions with ring-width records in northern and south-central Alaska to see whether tree-growth signals in the nineteenth century in those regions are consistent with tree-ring characteristics in and near Bonanza Creek (BNZ) LTER (25 km southwest of Fairbanks) that suggest warm temperatures during the mid-nineteenth century. We also present a conceptual model of key limiting events in white spruce reproduction and compare it to a 39-year record of seed fall at BNZ. Finally, we derive a radial growth pattern index from white spruce at nine stands across Interior Alaska that matches recent major seed crop events in the BNZ monitoring period, and we identify dates after 1800 when major seed crops of white spruce, which are infrequent, may have been produced. The boreal region is characterized by a broad zone of forest with a continuous distribution across Eurasia and North America, amounting to about 17% of the earth’s land surface area (Bonan et al. 1992). The boreal region is often conceived of as a zone of relatively homogenous climate, but in fact a surprising diversity of climates are present. During the long days of summer, continental interior locations under persistent high-pressure systems experience hot weather that can promote extensive forest fires frequently exceeding 100 kilohectares (K ha). Summer daily maximum temperatures are cooled to a considerable degree in maritime portions of the boreal region affected by air masses that originate over the North Atlantic, North Pacific, or Arctic Oceans.


2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 561-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn Patrick Juday ◽  
Claire Alix

This paper calibrates climate controls over radial growth of floodplain white spruce ( Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) and examines whether growth in these populations responds similarly to climate as upland trees in Interior Alaska. Floodplain white spruce trees hold previously unrecognized potential for long-term climate reconstruction because they are the source of driftwood that becomes frozen in coastal deposits, where archeological timbers and beach logs represent well-preserved datable material. We compared ring width chronologies for 135 trees in six stands on the Yukon Flats and Tanana River with temperature and precipitation at Fairbanks from 1912–2001. Our sample contains a stable common signal representing a strong negative relationship between summer temperature and tree growth. We developed a floodplain temperature index (FPTI), which explains half of the variability of the composite chronology, and a supplemental precipitation index (SPI) based on correlation of monthly precipitation with the residual of the temperature-based prediction of growth. We then combined FPTI and SPI into a climate favorability index (CFI) in which above-normal precipitation partially compensates for temperature-induced drought reduction of growth and vice versa. CFI and growth have been particularly low since 1969. Our results provide a basis for building longer chronologies based on archeological wood and for projecting future growth.


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