TITLE:
Subcanopy genetics —The relationship between canopy tree size and genetic variation of the savanna species Pollichia campestris Aiton (Illecebraceae)
AUTHORS:
Josef Simmel, Peter Poschlod, Christoph Reisch
KEYWORDS:
Acacia; AFLP; Directed Dispersal; Frugivore; Kalahari; Nurse Tree
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.4 No.2,
February
20,
2014
ABSTRACT: In savanna
vegetation, trees and their canopies provide an important, but scattered
habitat. Seeds of plants growing under these nurse trees often are dispersed by
animals, especially birds. In the present study, we investigated the influence
of tree size and frugivore dispersal on the genetic variation of the subcanopy
species Pollichia campestris, using
amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP). Considering the individuals
under each nurse tree as subpopulations, we found the genetic variation
within subpopulations to be positively correlated with the size of the
respective canopy tree. Genetic variation was very low among, but high within
subpopulations (ΦPT = 0.026, P = 0.18). We conclude that the low genetic
variation among subpopulations is due to effective and directed dispersal
(dispersal from one canopy to another) by legitimate and frugivorous dispersal
agents.