| Abstract Detail
Genetics Section Gordon, Sarah [1], Whitkus, Richard [1]. Genetic structure of a dominant forest tree, Umbellularia californica (Hook. & Arn.)Nutt. LANDSCAPE genetics examines how geographic and environmental features structure genetic variation of populations and facilitates research in ecology, evolution and conservation biology. Umbellularia californica, the Bay Laurel, is an ecologically significant and widespread forest tree that occurs in multiple plant communities throughout the coastal forest region of California and Southern Oregon. In this increasingly human-dominated landscape, understanding how microevolutionary processes generate genetic structure will be useful in designing appropriate measures for genetic resource conservation. The purpose of this study is to identify genetic structure and the evolutionary forces effecting the distribution of U. californica in the Sonoma Valley, California. This heterogeneous region contains habitats ranging from hot, open grassland to shaded riparian canyons. Four hundred and fifty one individuals were collected from forty-seven field plots chosen to represent the maximum range of the study area and provide two levels of spatial clustering: plots within regions of the valley and plots over the entire valley. Population diversity and structure was assayed using 247 putative loci generated by Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP). Total diversity (Ht = 0.112) and proportion of total diversity found among populations (Gst = 0.116) are within range of the values reported for other tree species. Small but highly significant genetic structure was identified (Mantel Test, p
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1 - Sonoma State University, Dept. of Biology, 1801 East Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park, California, 94928, USA
Keywords:
Umbellularia californica
landscape genetics
AFLP
population genetics.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 34-10
Location: 350/Holt
Date: Tuesday, August 1st, 2006
Time: 10:45 AM
Abstract ID:157 |
