Genetic variation within a dominant shrub species determines plant species colonization in a coastal dune ecosystem

Ecology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 1237-1243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory M. Crutsinger ◽  
Sharon Y. Strauss ◽  
Jennifer A. Rudgers
REINWARDTIA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Powling

POWLING, A. 2018. An assessment of present plant diversity on the Natewa Peninsula, Vanua Levu, Fiji. Reinwardtia 17(2): 125‒132. ‒‒ The Natewa Peninsula, part of the Fijian island of Vanua Levu, is naturally afforested but the forests have been extensively logged in the last 50 years. It is now planned to protect some of the forests from further logging by incorporating them into a National Park. A survey of plant species in the regenerating forests and surrounding land on the Peninsula was performed to assess the taxonomic and ecological diversity of the trees and shrubs, including figs and palms, and also the orchids presently to be found on the Peninsula. The degree of invasion by introduced plant species was also assessed. Of 67 tree and shrub species it was found that 17 were endemic to the Fijian islands, 40 others were indigenous and ten were introduced. The normal habitats of these species included dense, open and secondary forest, showing that trees with a range of ecological characteristics were still present. Endemic and indigenous species of both figs and palms were found, and also terrestrial and epiphytic orchids. No severe infestations of introduced species were observed. It is concluded that the forests of the Peninsula are of sufficient conservation value to justify National Park status. 


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0247586
Author(s):  
Christine E. Edwards ◽  
Brooke C. Tessier ◽  
Joel F. Swift ◽  
Burgund Bassüner ◽  
Alexander G. Linan ◽  
...  

Understanding genetic diversity and structure in a rare species is critical for prioritizing both in situ and ex situ conservation efforts. One such rare species is Physaria filiformis (Brassicaceae), a threatened, winter annual plant species. The species has a naturally fragmented distribution, occupying three different soil types spread across four disjunct geographical locations in Missouri and Arkansas. The goals of this study were to understand: (1) whether factors associated with fragmentation and small population size (i.e., inbreeding, genetic drift or genetic bottlenecks) have reduced levels of genetic diversity, (2) how genetic variation is structured and which factors have influenced genetic structure, and (3) how much extant genetic variation of P. filiformis is currently publicly protected and the implications for the development of conservation strategies to protect its genetic diversity. Using 16 microsatellite markers, we genotyped individuals from 20 populations of P. filiformis from across its geographical range and one population of Physaria gracilis for comparison and analyzed genetic diversity and structure. Populations of P. filiformis showed comparable levels of genetic diversity to its congener, except a single population in northwest Arkansas showed evidence of a genetic bottleneck and two populations in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas showed lower genetic variation, consistent with genetic drift. Populations showed isolation by distance, indicating that migration is geographically limited, and analyses of genetic structure grouped individuals into seven geographically structured genetic clusters, with geographic location/spatial separation showing a strong influence on genetic structure. At least one population is protected for all genetic clusters except one in north-central Arkansas, which should therefore be prioritized for protection. Populations in the Ouachita Mountains were genetically divergent from the rest of P. filiformis; future morphological analyses are needed to identify whether it merits recognition as a new, extremely rare species.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yihua Xiao ◽  
Shirong Liu ◽  
Manyun Zhang ◽  
Fuchun Tong ◽  
Zhihong Xu ◽  
...  

Urbanization causes alteration in atmospheric, soil, and hydrological factors and substantially affects a range of morphological and physiological plant traits. Correspondingly, plants might adopt different strategies to adapt to urbanization promotion or pressure. Understanding of plant traits responding to urbanization will reveal the capacity of plant adaptation and optimize the choice of plant species in urbanization green. In this study, four different functional groups (herbs, shrubs, subcanopies, and canopies, eight plant species totally) located in urban, suburban, and rural areas were selected and eight replicated plants were selected for each species at each site. Their physiological and photosynthetic properties and heavy metal concentrations were quantified to reveal plant adaptive strategies to urbanization. The herb and shrub species had significantly higher starch and soluble sugar contents in urban than in suburban areas. Urbanization decreased the maximum photosynthetic rates and total chlorophyll contents of the canopies (Engelhardtia roxburghiana and Schima superba). The herbs (Lophatherum gracile and Alpinia chinensis) and shrubs (Ardisia quinquegona and Psychotria rubra) species in urban areas had significantly lower nitrogen (N) allocated in the cell wall and leaf δ15N values but higher heavy metal concentrations than those in suburban areas. The canopy and subcanopy (Diospyros morrisiana and Cratoxylum cochinchinense) species adapt to the urbanization via reducing resource acquisition but improving defense capacity, while the herb and shrub species improve resource acquisition to adapt to the urbanization. Our current studies indicated that functional groups affected the responses of plant adaptive strategies to the urbanization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-163
Author(s):  
Christoph Reisch ◽  
Sergey Rosbakh

2013 ◽  
Vol 174 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tod F. Stuessy ◽  
Koji Takayama ◽  
Patricio López-Sepúlveda ◽  
Daniel J. Crawford

1998 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 321 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. L. Shearer ◽  
C. E. Crane ◽  
R. G. Fairman ◽  
M. J. Grant

Estimates of the susceptibility of plant species of coastal dune vegetation tokilling by Armillaria luteobubalina Watling & Kilewere obtained from the occurrence of mycelial sheaths of the pathogen beneaththe bark of the root collars of dead plants in 62 disease centres.Dicotyledons (Magnoliopsida) outnumbered monocotyledons (Liliopsida), being81% of the 330 plant species found in disease centres in coastalvegetation. Fifty-one percent of the species were from five Magnoliopsidafamilies with the largest number of species from the Myrtaceae and Proteaceae.Eleven percent of the species were from three Liliopsida families with thelargest number of species from the Cyperaceae. Thirty-four percent of speciesoccurred in three or more disease centres. Thirty-eight percent, or a total of125 of all species, were killed by A. luteobubalina incoastal vegetation. Hosts on which the pathogen did not reach the root collarwould not have been detected. The largest number of species killed were fromthe Proteaceae (26% of species killed) followed by Myrtaceae,Epacridaceae, Papilionaceae and Mimosaceae. Only 6% of species killedwere from the Liliopsida. The distribution of species frequency and thosekilled by infection is positively skewed, with 40% of species notkilled in any centre and 8% killed in greater than 75% of thecentres in which they occurred. The percentage of disease centres in which aspecies occurred and was killed by A. luteobubalina issignificantly linearly correlated with mortality rating and relativeimportance. Cross-tabulation of species by disease centres in which plantswere killed provided the opportunity to classify the relative susceptibilityof plant species to killing by A. luteobubalina.


Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 196
Author(s):  
Sadal Hwang ◽  
Tong Geon Lee

Genetic mapping studies provide improved estimates for novel genomic loci, allelic effects and gene action controlling important traits. Such mapping studies are regularly performed by using a combination of genotypic data (e.g., genotyping markers tagging genetic variation within populations) and phenotypic data of appropriately structured mapping populations. Randomly obtained DNA information and more recent high-throughput genome sequencing efforts have dramatically increased the ability to obtain genetic markers for any plant species. Despite the presence of constantly and rapidly increasing genotypic data, necessary steps to determine whether specific markers can be associated with genetic variation may often be initially neglected, meaning that ever-growing genotypic markers do not necessarily maximize the power of mapping studies and often generate false results. To address this issue, we present a framework for analyzing genotypic data while developing a genetic linkage map. Our goal is to raise awareness of a stepwise procedure in the development of genetic maps as well as to outline the current and potential contribution of this procedure to minimize bias caused by errors in genotypic datasets. Empirical results obtained from the R/qtl package for the statistical language/software R are prepared with details of how we handled genotypic data to develop the genetic map of a major plant species. This study provides a stepwise procedure to correct pervasive errors in genotypic data while developing genetic maps. For use in custom follow-up studies, we provide input files and written R codes.


Crop Science ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 2379-2389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine M. Moncada ◽  
Nancy J. Ehlke ◽  
Gary J. Muehlbauer ◽  
Craig C. Sheaffer ◽  
Donald L. Wyse ◽  
...  

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