Gene flow in an endangered willow Salix hukaoana (Salicaceae) in natural and fragmented riparian landscapes

Salix hukaoana is an endangered riparian pioneer tree that is distributed within a restricted area of Japan. Microsatellite genetic variations and genetic structures were investigated in 80 subpopulations patchily distributed within five river basins with varying degrees of habitat fragmentation. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conservation genetics 2011-02, Vol.12 (1), p.79-89
Main Authors: Kikuchi, Satoshi, Suzuki, Wajiro, Sashimura, Naoko
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Genetics and Genomics
Biodiversity
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Conservation biology
Conservation Biology/Ecology
Dispersal
Ecology
Endangered & extinct species
Endangered plants
endangered species
Evolutionary Biology
Freshwater
Gene flow
Genetic diversity
Genetic resources
Habitat fragmentation
Habitats
Life Sciences
microsatellite repeats
Plant Genetics and Genomics
Population genetics
Research Article
Riparian ecology
Riparian willow
River basins
Rivers
Salicaceae
Salix
Salix hukaoana
Subpopulations
Trees
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Summary:Salix hukaoana is an endangered riparian pioneer tree that is distributed within a restricted area of Japan. Microsatellite genetic variations and genetic structures were investigated in 80 subpopulations patchily distributed within five river basins with varying degrees of habitat fragmentation. The correlation between geographic distance and genetic distance based on the Bayesian assignment test was significant across relatively intact riparian habitats, with steeper slopes of regression for more densely grouped subpopulations, suggesting restricted gene flow. However, the correlation became less apparent with increasing spacing of the habitat patches. These contradictory results are attributed to the increased chance of long-distance dispersal of sexual propagules among more isolated habitat patches. The observed accumulation of genetic diversity with increasing distance downstream along a few, but not all, of the rivers and the results of assignment tests suggested a downstream directionality of gene flow. The results of this study illustrate the patterns of genetic diversity and contemporary dispersal of S. hukaoana, and provide important insights into understanding the gene dispersal of riparian trees and into the conservation of genetic resources for this species.
ISSN:1566-0621
1572-9737
DOI:10.1007/s10592-009-9992-z