Spatial and temporal assessments of genetic structure in an endangered Garry oak ecosystem on Vancouver Island

Title
Spatial and temporal assessments of genetic structure in an endangered Garry oak ecosystem on Vancouver Island
Publication Date
2018
Author(s)
Catherall, Erin E
Janes, Jasmine
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4511-2087
Email: jjanes@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:jjanes
Josefsson, Caroline A
Gorrell, Jamieson C
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
NRC Research Press
Place of publication
Canada
DOI
10.1139/cjb-2017-0130
UNE publication id
une:23036
Abstract
Garry oak (Quercus garryana Douglas ex Hook.) is a deciduous tree whose ecosystem is listed "at risk" throughout its range in British Columbia (BC), Canada, under the Canadian Species at Risk Act. Garry oak ecosystems host the most diverse flora for coastal BC, yet they account for less than 0.3% of the province's land coverage. Due to the loss and degradation of Garry oak habitat, many associated plant and animal species that rely on these sensitive ecosystems are endangered. Microsatellite markers were used to investigate temporal changes in fine-scale population genetic structure of 121 Garry oak trees from the Nanaimo region (Vancouver Island, BC) using diameter at breast height as a proxy for age. Overall, allelic diversity was moderate, ranging from 3.0 to 7.5 alleles per locus with a mean of 4.4 (± 0.4 SE) across all loci. Global fixation indices (FST) of 0.06 and 0.09 suggest significant departures from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium among all populations and age-classified subpopulations, respectively. We found no evidence for change in genetic diversity across generations. Our results indicate low levels of differentiation within populations and high levels of gene flow among populations, suggesting an adaptive potential for Garry oaks in response to future climate change events.
Link
Citation
Botany, 96(4), p. 257-265
ISSN
1916-2804
1916-2790
Start page
257
End page
265

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