Journal of Plant Ecology ›› 2017, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (1): 213-221.DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtw054

所属专题: 生物多样性与生态系统功能

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Genetic diversity and differentiation follow secondary succession in a multi-species study on woody plants from subtropical China

Christoph Z. Hahn1,*, Stefan G. Michalski1, Markus Fischer1 and Walter Durka1,3   

  1. 1 Department of Community Ecology (BZF), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, D-06120 Halle, Germany; 2 Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland; 3 German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Pl. 5E, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
  • 收稿日期:2015-10-07 接受日期:2016-05-23 出版日期:2017-02-04 发布日期:2016-05-31

Genetic diversity and differentiation follow secondary succession in a multi-species study on woody plants from subtropical China

Christoph Z. Hahn1,*, Stefan G. Michalski1, Markus Fischer1 and Walter Durka1,3   

  1. 1 Department of Community Ecology (BZF), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, D-06120 Halle, Germany; 2 Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland; 3 German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Pl. 5E, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
  • Received:2015-10-07 Accepted:2016-05-23 Online:2017-02-04 Published:2016-05-31
  • Contact: Hahn, Christoph

摘要: Aims Species diversity and genetic diversity may be affected in parallel by similar environmental drivers. However, genetic diversity may also be affected independently by habitat characteristics. We aim at disentangling relationships between genetic diversity, species diversity and habitat characteristics of woody species in subtropical forest.
Methods We studied 11 dominant tree and shrub species in 27 plots in Gutianshan, China, and assessed their genetic diversity (A r) and population differentiation (F ′ ST) with microsatellite markers. We tested if A r and population specific F ′ ST were correlated to local species diversity and plot characteristics. Multi-model inference and model averaging were used to determine the relative importance of each predictor. Additionally, we tested for isolation-by-distance (IBD) and isolation-by-elevation by regressing pairwise F ′ ST against pairwise spatial and elevational distances.
Important findings Genetic diversity was not related to species diversity for any of the study species. Thus, our results do not support joint effects of habitat characteristics on these two levels of biodiversity. Instead, genetic diversity in two understory shrubs, Rhododendron simsii and Vaccinium carlesii, was affected by plot age with decreasing genetic diversity in successionally older plots. Population differentiation increased with plot age in R. simsii and Lithocarpus glaber. This shows that succession can reduce genetic diversity within, and increase genetic diversity between populations. Furthermore, we found four cases of IBD and two cases of isolation-by-elevation. The former indicates inefficient pollen and seed dispersal by animals whereas the latter might be due to phenological asynchronies. These patterns indicate that succession can affect genetic diversity without parallel effects on species diversity and that gene flow in a continuous subtropical forest can be restricted even at a local scale.

Abstract: Aims Species diversity and genetic diversity may be affected in parallel by similar environmental drivers. However, genetic diversity may also be affected independently by habitat characteristics. We aim at disentangling relationships between genetic diversity, species diversity and habitat characteristics of woody species in subtropical forest.
Methods We studied 11 dominant tree and shrub species in 27 plots in Gutianshan, China, and assessed their genetic diversity (A r) and population differentiation (F ′ ST) with microsatellite markers. We tested if A r and population specific F ′ ST were correlated to local species diversity and plot characteristics. Multi-model inference and model averaging were used to determine the relative importance of each predictor. Additionally, we tested for isolation-by-distance (IBD) and isolation-by-elevation by regressing pairwise F ′ ST against pairwise spatial and elevational distances.
Important findings Genetic diversity was not related to species diversity for any of the study species. Thus, our results do not support joint effects of habitat characteristics on these two levels of biodiversity. Instead, genetic diversity in two understory shrubs, Rhododendron simsii and Vaccinium carlesii, was affected by plot age with decreasing genetic diversity in successionally older plots. Population differentiation increased with plot age in R. simsii and Lithocarpus glaber. This shows that succession can reduce genetic diversity within, and increase genetic diversity between populations. Furthermore, we found four cases of IBD and two cases of isolation-by-elevation. The former indicates inefficient pollen and seed dispersal by animals whereas the latter might be due to phenological asynchronies. These patterns indicate that succession can affect genetic diversity without parallel effects on species diversity and that gene flow in a continuous subtropical forest can be restricted even at a local scale.

Key words: Allelic richness, population differentiation, habitat characteristics, gene flow, species-genetic diversity correlation, SGDC