TY - JOUR
T1 - Habitat fragmentation influences genetic diversity and differentiation
T2 - Fine-scale population structure of Cercis canadensis (eastern redbud)
AU - Ony, Meher A.
AU - Nowicki, Marcin
AU - Boggess, Sarah L.
AU - Klingeman, William E.
AU - Zobel, John M.
AU - Trigiano, Robert N.
AU - Hadziabdic, Denita
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2020/4/1
Y1 - 2020/4/1
N2 - Forest fragmentation may negatively affect plants through reduced genetic diversity and increased population structure due to habitat isolation, decreased population size, and disturbance of pollen-seed dispersal mechanisms. However, in the case of tree species, effective pollen-seed dispersal, mating system, and ecological dynamics may help the species overcome the negative effect of forest fragmentation. A fine-scale population genetics study can shed light on the postfragmentation genetic diversity and structure of a species. Here, we present the genetic diversity and population structure of Cercis canadensis L. (eastern redbud) wild populations on a fine scale within fragmented areas centered around the borders of Georgia–Tennessee, USA. We hypothesized high genetic diversity among the collections of C. canadensis distributed across smaller geographical ranges. Fifteen microsatellite loci were used to genotype 172 individuals from 18 unmanaged and naturally occurring collection sites. Our results indicated presence of population structure, overall high genetic diversity (HE = 0.63, HO = 0.34), and moderate genetic differentiation (FST = 0.14) among the collection sites. Two major genetic clusters within the smaller geographical distribution were revealed by STRUCTURE. Our data suggest that native C. canadensis populations in the fragmented area around the Georgia–Tennessee border were able to maintain high levels of genetic diversity, despite the presence of considerable spatial genetic structure. As habitat isolation may negatively affect gene flow of outcrossing species across time, consequences of habitat fragmentation should be regularly monitored for this and other forest species. This study also has important implications for habitat management efforts and future breeding programs.
AB - Forest fragmentation may negatively affect plants through reduced genetic diversity and increased population structure due to habitat isolation, decreased population size, and disturbance of pollen-seed dispersal mechanisms. However, in the case of tree species, effective pollen-seed dispersal, mating system, and ecological dynamics may help the species overcome the negative effect of forest fragmentation. A fine-scale population genetics study can shed light on the postfragmentation genetic diversity and structure of a species. Here, we present the genetic diversity and population structure of Cercis canadensis L. (eastern redbud) wild populations on a fine scale within fragmented areas centered around the borders of Georgia–Tennessee, USA. We hypothesized high genetic diversity among the collections of C. canadensis distributed across smaller geographical ranges. Fifteen microsatellite loci were used to genotype 172 individuals from 18 unmanaged and naturally occurring collection sites. Our results indicated presence of population structure, overall high genetic diversity (HE = 0.63, HO = 0.34), and moderate genetic differentiation (FST = 0.14) among the collection sites. Two major genetic clusters within the smaller geographical distribution were revealed by STRUCTURE. Our data suggest that native C. canadensis populations in the fragmented area around the Georgia–Tennessee border were able to maintain high levels of genetic diversity, despite the presence of considerable spatial genetic structure. As habitat isolation may negatively affect gene flow of outcrossing species across time, consequences of habitat fragmentation should be regularly monitored for this and other forest species. This study also has important implications for habitat management efforts and future breeding programs.
KW - Cercis canadensis
KW - fine-scale population structure
KW - genetic diversity
KW - habitat fragmentation
KW - redbud
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U2 - 10.1002/ece3.6141
DO - 10.1002/ece3.6141
M3 - Article
C2 - 32313625
AN - SCOPUS:85081636432
SN - 2045-7758
VL - 10
SP - 3655
EP - 3670
JO - Ecology and Evolution
JF - Ecology and Evolution
IS - 8
ER -