Genetic Evidence of the Contribution of Ethnic Migrations to the Propagation and Persistence of the Rare and Declining Scrambling Shrub Caesalpinia bonduc L

This paper examines the contribution of human migrations to the propagation and maintenance of Caesalpina bonduc by means of an analysis of its population genetics and distribution patterns. One hundred and forty seven sites were surveyed in the three climatic zones of Benin and all individuals of t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human ecology : an interdisciplinary journal 2012-02, Vol.40 (1), p.117-128
Main Authors: Assogbadjo, A. E, Fandohan, B, Kakaï, R. Glèlè, Kyndt, T, Hardy, O. J, Gheysen, G, Sinsin, B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Affluence
Amplified fragment length polymorphism
Anthropology
Benin
Biogeography
Caesalpinia
Caesalpinia bonduc
chloroplast DNA
Climatic zones
Cultural Pluralism
Differentiation
Dispersal
Distribution patterns
DNA fingerprinting
Ecological genetics
Environmental Management
Extinction
Gene flow
Gene pool
Genetic diversity
Genetic variation
Genetics
Geography
Human ecology
humans
Metapopulation ecology
Migration
Morphology
Parents
Phenotypic traits
Plant ecology
Population characteristics
Population genetics
Risk
Risk factors
Shrubs
Social Sciences
Sociology
Species extinction
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper examines the contribution of human migrations to the propagation and maintenance of Caesalpina bonduc by means of an analysis of its population genetics and distribution patterns. One hundred and forty seven sites were surveyed in the three climatic zones of Benin and all individuals of the species were recorded. A set of individuals was randomly selected and sampled from seven populations and morphological variation and genetic diversity were assessed. The study confirmed the presence of the species in all climatic zones but its abundance varied greatly. Morphological variability between populations and zones was low in comparison with the high amount of variation within populations. AFLP and cpDNA fingerprinting revealed an extremely low genetic diversity within populations and a low genetic differentiation, suggesting parental links between populations. The results support the hypothesis of human involvement in Caesalpinia dispersal and persistence in Benin. However, the low genetic diversity may imply high risks for future extinction. We recommend that gene flow among the remaining populations be supported in order to conserve the species.
ISSN:0300-7839
1572-9915
DOI:10.1007/s10745-011-9442-7