Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-d8cs5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-11T04:11:36.880Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The influence of forest fragmentation on clonal diversity and genetic structure in Heliconia angusta, an endemic understorey herb of the Brazilian Atlantic rain forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2014

Katharina Stein ,
Christoph Rosche ,
Heidi Hirsch ,
Anke Kindermann ,
Julia Köhler  and
Isabell Hensen
Katharina Stein
Affiliation:
Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108 Halle/Saale, Germany University of Wuerzburg, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, Am Hubland, 97074 Wuerzburg, Germany
Christoph Rosche*
Affiliation:
Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108 Halle/Saale, Germany
Heidi Hirsch
Affiliation:
Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108 Halle/Saale, Germany
Anke Kindermann
Affiliation:
Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108 Halle/Saale, Germany
Julia Köhler
Affiliation:
Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108 Halle/Saale, Germany
Isabell Hensen
Affiliation:
Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108 Halle/Saale, Germany
*
1 Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Fragmented populations are usually exposed to the negative effects of reduced gene flow, genetic drift and population differentiation. These effects result in the collective loss of genetic variation, thereby reducing the probability of population adaptation to new environmental conditions and increasing the risk of extinction. Forest fragments commonly exhibit suboptimal site conditions, which can result in enhanced clonal reproduction, and a potential reduction in clonal diversity due to increased selfing and inbreeding depression. The clonal diversity, genetic diversity and structure of Heliconia angusta (Heliconiaceae) were assessed using AFLP-markers. We analysed six patches in the continuous forest (Atlantic rain forest, State of Rio de Janeiro) and eight patches (155 leaf samples in total) in five nearby forest fragments (age of oldest fragment: c. 50 y; size range: < 5–100 ha). Clonal diversity (Pd) of patches was slightly, yet significantly, lower in forest fragments compared with continuous forest. Measures of genetic diversity of patches in forest fragments did not differ from those in the continuous forest. A STRUCTURE analysis did not show any clear clustering of patches in the continuous forest and forest fragments. Our results suggest that H. angusta has not yet suffered from the anticipated negative effects of fragmentation.

Keywords

AFLPclonal diversityforest fragmentsgenetic differentiationgenetic diversitytropical rain forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , May 2014 , pp. 199 - 208
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

AGUILAR, R., QUESADA, M., ASHWORTH, L., HERRERÌAS-DIEGO, Y. & LOBO, J. 2008. Genetic consequences of habitat fragmentation in plant populations: susceptible signals in plant traits and methodological approaches. Molecular Ecology 17:5177–5188.Google Scholar
AGUIRRE, A. & DIRZO, R. 2008. Effects of fragmentation on pollinator abundance and fruit set of an abundant understory palm in a Mexican tropical forest. Biological Conservation 141:375–384.Google Scholar
ARROYO-RODRÍGUEZ, V., AGUIRRE, A., BENÌTEZ-MALVIDO, J. & MANDUJANO, S. 2007. Impact of rainforest fragmentation on the population size of a structurally important palm species: Astrocaryum mexicanum at Los Tuxtlas, México. Biological Conservation 138:198–206.Google Scholar
BONIN, A., EHRICH, D. & MANEL, S. 2007. Statistical analysis of amplified fragment length polymorphism data: a toolbox for molecular ecologists and evolutionists. Molecular Ecology 16:3737–3758.Google Scholar
BRUNA, E. M. 2003. Are plant populations in fragmented habitats recruitment limited? Tests with an Amazonian herb. Ecology 84:932–947.Google Scholar
BRUNA, E. M., KRESS, W. J., MARQUES, F. & DA SILVA, O. F. 2004. Heliconia acuminata reproductive success is independent of local floral density. Acta Amazonica 34:467–471.Google Scholar
CHAZDON, R. L., HARVEY, C. A., KOMAR, O., GRIFFITH, D. M., FERGUSON, B. C., MARTÌNEZ-RAMOS, M., MORALES, H., NIGH, R., SOTO-PINTO, L., VAN BREUGEL, M. & PHILPOTT, S. M. 2009. Beyond reserves: a research agenda for conserving biodiversity in human-modified tropical landscapes. Biotropica 41:142–153.Google Scholar
COART, E., VAN GLABEKE, S., PETIT, R. J., VAN BOCKSTAELE, E. & ROLDÀN-RUIZ, I. 2005. Range wide versus local patterns of genetic diversity in hornbeam (Carpinus betulus). Conservation Genetics 7:1–15.Google Scholar
DE CASTRO, C. C. & ARAUJO, A. C. 2004. Distyly and sequential pollinators of Psychotria nuda (Rubiaceae) in the Atlantic rainforest, Brazil. Plant Systematics and Evolution 244:131–139.Google Scholar
DORKEN, M. E. & ECKERT, C. G. 2001. Severely reduced sexual reproduction in northern populations of a clonal plant, Decodon verticillatus (Lythraceae). Journal of Ecology 89:339–350.Google Scholar
DOUHOVNIKOFF, V. & DODD, R. S. 2003. Intra-clonal variation and a similarity threshold for identification of clones: application to Salix exigua using AFLP molecular markers. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 106:1307–1315.Google Scholar
DOYLE, J. J. & DOYLE, J. L. 1987. A rapid DNA isolation procedure for small quantities of fresh leaf tissue. Phytochemical Bulletin 19:11–15.Google Scholar
ECKERT, C. G. 2000. Contributions of autogamy and geitonogamy to self-fertilization in a mass flowering, clonal plant. Ecology 81:532–542.Google Scholar
ECKERT, C. G. 2002. The loss of sex in clonal plants. Evolution Ecology 15:501–520.Google Scholar
EHRICH, D. 2006. AFLPdat: a collection of R functions for convenient handling of AFLP data. Molecular Ecology Notes 6:603–604.Google Scholar
ELLSTRAND, N. C. & ROOSE, M. L. 1987. Patterns of genotypic diversity in clonal plant-species. American Journal of Botany 74:123–131.Google Scholar
ERIKSSON, O. 1996. Regional dynamics of plants: a review of evidence for remnant, source-sink and metapopulations. Oikos 77:248–258.Google Scholar
ERIKSSON, O. & EHRLEN, J. 2001. Landscape fragmentation and the viability of plant populations. Pp. 157–175 in Silvertown, J. & Antonovics, J. (eds.). Integrating ecology and evolution in a spatial context. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.Google Scholar
EVANNO, G., REGNAUT, S. & GOUDET, J. 2005. Detecting the number of clusters of individuals using the software STRUCTURE: a simulation study. Molecular Ecology 14:2611–2620.Google Scholar
EXCOFFIER, L. & LISCHER, H. E. L. 2010. Arlequin suite ver 35: a new series of programs to perform population genetics analyses under Linux and Windows. Molecular Ecology Resources 10:564–567.Google Scholar
FALUSH, D., STEPHENS, M. & PRITCHARD, J. K. 2007. Inference of population structure using multilocus genotype data: dominant markers and null alleles. Molecular Ecology Notes 7:574–578.Google Scholar
FIGUEROA-ESQUIVEL, E., PUEBLA-OLIVARES, F., GODÌNEZ-ALVAREZ, H. & NUÑEZ-FARFÀN, J. 2009. Seed dispersal effectiveness by understory birds on Dendropanax arboreus in a fragmented landscape. Biodiversity and Conservation 18:3357–3365.Google Scholar
FISCHER, J. & LINDENMAYER, D. B. 2007. Landscape modification and habitat fragmentation: a synthesis. Global Ecology and Biogeography 16:265–280.Google Scholar
GHAZOUL, J. 2005. Pollen and seed dispersal among dispersed plants. Biological Reviews 80:413–443.Google Scholar
GILBERT, K. J., ANDREW, R. L., BOCK, D. G., FRANKLIN, M. T., KANE, N. C., MOORE, J.-S., MOYERS, B. T., RENAUT, S., RENNISON, D. J., VEEN, T. & VINES, T. H. 2012. Recommendations for utilizing and reporting population genetic analyses: the reproducibility of genetic clustering using the program STRUCTURE. Molecular Ecology 21:4925–4930.Google Scholar
GUIMARÃES SIMÃO, D. & SCATENA, V. L. 2001. Morphology and anatomy in Heliconia angusta Vell. and H. velloziana L. Emygd. (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) from the Atlantic forest of southeastern Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Botânica 24:415–424.Google Scholar
HANSEN, M., KRAFT, T., CHRISTIANSSON, M. & NILSSON, N. O. 1999. Evaluation of AFLP in Beta. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 98:845–852.Google Scholar
HONNAY, O. & BOSSUYT, B. 2005. Prolonged clonal growth; escape route or route to extinction? Oikos 108:427–432.Google Scholar
HONNAY, O. & JACQUEMYN, H. 2008. A meta-analysis of the relation between mating system, growth form and genotypic diversity in clonal plant species. Evolutionary Ecology 22:299–312.Google Scholar
JACQUEMYN, H., BRYS, R., HONNAY, O., HERMY, M. & ROLDÀN-RUIZ, I. 2006. Sexual reproduction, clonal diversity and genetic differentiation in patchily distributed populations of the temperate forest herb Paris quadrifolia (Trilliaceae). Oecologia 147:434–444.Google Scholar
JAKOBSSON, M. & ROSENBERG, N. A. 2007. CLUMPP: a cluster matching and permutation program for dealing with label switching and multimodality in analysis of population structure. Bioinformatics 23:1801–1806.Google Scholar
KIERS, E. T., PALMER, T. M., IVES, A. R., BRUNO, J. F. & BRONSTEIN, J. L. 2010. Mutualisms in a changing world: an evolutionary perspective. Ecology Letters 13:1459–1474.Google Scholar
KOLB, A. 2008. Habitat fragmentation reduces plant fitness by disturbing pollination and modifying response to herbivory. Biological Conservation 141:2540–2549.Google Scholar
KRAMER, A. T., ISON, J. L., ASHLEY, M. V. & HOWE, H. F. 2007. The paradox of forest fragmentation genetics. Conservation Biology 22:878–885.Google Scholar
KRESS, W. J. 1990. The diversity and distribution of Heliconia (Heliconiaceae) in Brazil. Acta Botanica Brasilica 4:159–167.Google Scholar
KUMAR, S., SKÆVELAND, A., ORR, R. J. S., ENGER, P., RUDEN, T., MEVIK, B-H., BURKI, F., BOTNEN, A. & SHALCHIAN-TABRIZI, K. 2009. AIR: A batch-oriented web program package for construction of supermatrices ready for phylogenomic analyses. BMC Bioinformatics 10:357.Google Scholar
KWAK, M. M., VELTEROP, O. & VAN ANDEL, J. 1998. Pollen and gene flow in fragmented habitats. Applied Vegetation Science 1:37–54.Google Scholar
LAURANCE, W. F., LOVEJOY, T. E., VASCONCELOS, H. L., BRUNA, E. M., DIDHAM, R. K., STOUFFER, P. C., GASCON, C., BIERREGAARD, R. O., LAURANCE, S. G. & SAMPAIO, E. 2002. Ecosystem decay of Amazonian forest fragments: a 22-year investigation. Conservation Biology 16:605–618.Google Scholar
LENNARTSSON, T. 2002. Extinction thresholds and disrupted plant-pollinator interactions in fragmented plant populations. Ecology 83:3060–3072.Google Scholar
LOWE, A. J., BOSHIER, D., WARD, M., BACLES, C. F. E. & NAVARRO, C. 2005. Genetic resource impacts of habitat loss and degradation; reconciling empirical evidence and predicted theory for Neotropical trees. Heredity 95:255–273.Google Scholar
MANTEL, N. A. 1967. The detection of disease clustering and a generalized regression approach. Cancer Research 27:209–220.Google Scholar
MELÉNDEZ-ACKERMAN, E. J., SPERANZA, P., KRESS, W. J., ROHENA, L., TOLEDO, E., CORTES, C., TREECE, D., GITZENDANNER, M., SOLTIS, P. & SOLTIS, D. 2005. Microevolutionary processes inferred from AFLP and morphological variation in Heliconia bihai (Heliconiaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 166:781–794.Google Scholar
MURAWSKI, D. A. & HAMRICK, J. L. 1990. Local genetic and clonal structure in the tropical terrestrial bromeliad, Aechmea magdalenae . American Journal of Botany 77:1201–1208.Google Scholar
MYERS, N., MITTERMEIER, R. A., MITTERMEIER, C. G., FONSECA, G. A. B. & KENT, J. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853–858.Google Scholar
NYBOM, H. 2004. Comparison of different nuclear DNA markers for estimating intraspecific genetic diversity in plants. Molecular Ecology 13:1143–1155.Google Scholar
PERTOLDI, C., BIJLSMA, R. & LOESCHKE, V. 2007. Conservation genetics in a globally changing environment: present problems, paradoxes and future challenges. Biodiversity Conservation 16:4147–4163.Google Scholar
POMPANON, F., BONIN, A., BELLEMAIN, E. & TABERLET, P. 2005. Genotyping errors: causes, consequences and solutions. Nature Reviews Genetics 6:847–859.Google Scholar
PRICE, P. W. 2002. Species interactions and the evolution of biodiversity. Pp. 3–25 in Herrera, C. M. & Pellmyr, O. (eds.). Plant–animal interactions: an evolutionary approach. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.Google Scholar
PRITCHARD, J. K., STEPHENS, M. & DONNELLY, P. 2000. Inference of population structure using multilocus genotype data. Genetics 155:945–959.Google Scholar
RIBEIRO, M. C., METZGER, J. P., MARTENSEN, A. C., PONZONI, F. J. & HIROTA, M. M. 2009. The Brazilian Atlantic Forest: how much is left, and how is the remaining forest distributed? Implications for conservation. Biological Conservation 142:1141–1153.Google Scholar
ROSENBERG, N. A. 2004. DISTRUCT: a program for the graphical display of population structure. Molecular Ecology Notes 4:137–138.Google Scholar
ROSSETTO, M., KOOYMAN, R., SHERWIN, W. & JONES, R. 2008. Dispersal limitations, rather than bottlenecks or habitat specificity, can restrict the distribution of rare and endemic rainforest trees. American Journal of Botany 95:321–329.Google Scholar
SCHLEUNING, M., HUAMÀN, V. & MATTHIES, D. 2009. Experimental assessment of factors limiting seedling recruitment of an Amazonian understory herb. Biotropica 41:57–65.Google Scholar
SHIRLEY, S. M. 2006. Movement of forest birds across river and clearcut edges of varying riparian buffer strip widths. Forest Ecology and Management 223:190–199.Google Scholar
SKILLMAN, J. B., GARCIA, M. & WINTER, K. 1999. Whole plant consequences of crassulacean acid metabolism for a tropical forest understory plant. Ecology 85:1584–1593.Google Scholar
STEFFEN-DEWENTER, I. & TSCHARNTKE, T. 1999. Effects of habitat isolation on pollinator communities and seed set. Oecologia 121:432–440.Google Scholar
STEIN, K. & HENSEN, I. 2011. Potential pollinators and robbers: a study of the floral visitors of Heliconia angusta (Heliconiaceae) and their behaviour. Journal of Pollination Ecology 4:39–47.Google Scholar
STILES, F. G. 1975. Ecology, flowering phenology, and hummingbird pollination of some Costa Rican Heliconia species. Ecology 56:285–301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
STILES, F. G. 1983. Heliconia latispatha (Platanillo, wild plantain). Pp. 249–251 in Janzen, D. H. (ed.). Costa Rican natural history. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
SUÁREZ-MONTES, P., FORNONI, J. & NÙNEZ-FARFÀN, J. 2011. Conservation genetics of the endemic Mexican Heliconia uxpanapensis in the Los Tuxtlas tropical rain forest. Biotropica 43:114–121.Google Scholar
TABARELLI, M., PINTO, L. P., SILVA, M. C., HIROTA, M. & BEDE, L. 2005. Challenges and opportunities for biodiversity conservation in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Conservation Biology 19:695–700.Google Scholar
VEKEMANS, X., BEAUWENS, T., LEMAIRE, M. & ROLDÀN-RUIZ, I. 2002. Data from amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers show indication of size homoplasy and of a relationship between degree of homoplasy and fragment size. Molecular Ecology 11:139–151.Google Scholar
VELOSO, H. P., RANGEL-FILHO, A. L. & LIMA, J. C. A. 1991. Classificação da vegetação brasileira, adaptada a um sistema universal. IBGE/CDDI, Departamento de Documentação e Biblioteca, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografía e Estatística, Rio de Janeiro. 124 pp.Google Scholar
VOS, P., HOGERS, R., BLEEKER, M., REIJANS, M., VAN DE LEE, T., HORNES, M., FRITERS, A., POT, J., PALEMAN, J., KUIPER, M. & ZABEAU, M. 1995. AFLP: new technique for DNA fingerprinting. Nucleic Acids Research 23:4407–4414.Google Scholar
WATKINSON, A. R. & POWELL, J. C. 1993. Seedling recruitment and the maintenance of clonal diversity in plant populations – a computer simulation of Ranunculus repens . Journal of Ecology 81:707–717.Google Scholar
WESTCOTT, D. A. & GRAHAM, D. L. 2000. Patterns of movement and seed dispersal of a tropical frugivore. Oecologia 122:249–257.Google Scholar
YOUNG, A., BOYLE, T. & BROWN, T. 1996. The population genetic consequences of habitat fragmentation for plants. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 11:413–418.Google Scholar