By Animal, Water, or Wind: Can Dispersal Mode Predict Genetic Connectivity in Riverine Plant Species?

Author(s)

Nazareno, Alison G. ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; Knowles, L. Lacey ^[2] ; Dick, Christopher W. ^{[4, 2]} ; Lohmann, Lucia G. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Bot, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Michigan, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 - USA

^[3] Univ Fed Minas Gerais, Dept Genet Ecol & Evolut, Belo Horizonte, MG - Brazil

^[4] Smithsonian Trop Res Inst, Panama City - Panama

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE; v. 12, FEB 12 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Seed dispersal is crucial to gene flow among plant populations. Although the effects of geographic distance and barriers to gene flow are well studied in many systems, it is unclear how seed dispersal mediates gene flow in conjunction with interacting effects of geographic distance and barriers. To test whether distinct seed dispersal modes (i.e., hydrochory, anemochory, and zoochory) have a consistent effect on the level of genetic connectivity (i.e., gene flow) among populations of riverine plant species, we used unlinked single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for eight co-distributed plant species sampled across the Rio Branco, a putative biogeographic barrier in the Amazon basin. We found that animal-dispersed plant species exhibited higher levels of genetic diversity and lack of inbreeding as a result of the stronger genetic connectivity than plant species whose seeds are dispersed by water or wind. Interestingly, our results also indicated that the Rio Branco facilitates gene dispersal for all plant species analyzed, irrespective of their mode of dispersal. Even at a small spatial scale, our findings suggest that ecology rather than geography play a key role in shaping the evolutionary history of plants in the Amazon basin. These results may help improve conservation and management policies in Amazonian riparian forests, where degradation and deforestation rates are high. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/07141-4 - A test of the riverine barrier hypothesis for Amazonian plants
• Grantee: Alison Gonçalves Nazareno
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 12/50260-6 - Structure and evolution of the Amazonian biota and its environment: an integrative approach
• Grantee: Lúcia Garcez Lohmann
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/12633-8 - Comparative phylogeography of plants in the Central Amazonia
• Grantee: Alison Gonçalves Nazareno
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 17/02302-5 - Crossing Amazonian rivers: a comparative study of plants with distinct life histories
• Grantee: Alison Gonçalves Nazareno
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor