Symposium Article Symposium Article Identifying Genetic Hotspots by Mapping Molecular Diversity of Widespread Trees: When Commonness Matters (original) (raw)
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Conservation planning requires setting priorities at the same spatial scale at which decision-making processes are undertaken considering all levels of biodiversity, but current methods for identifying biodiversity hotspots ignore its genetic component. We developed a fine-scale approach based on the definition of genetic hotspots, which have high genetic diversity and unique variants that represent their evolutionary potential and evolutionary novelties. Our hypothesis is that wide-ranging taxa with similar ecological tolerances, yet of phylogenetically independent lineages, have been and currently are shaped by ecological and evolutionary forces that result in geographically concordant genetic patterns. We mapped previously published genetic diversity and unique variants of biparentally inherited markers and chloroplast sequences for 9 species from 188 and 275 populations, respectively, of the 4 woody dominant families of the austral temperate forest, an area considered a biodiversity hotspot. Spatial distribution patterns of genetic polymorphisms differed among taxa according to their ecological tolerances. Eight genetic hotspots were detected and we recommend conservation actions for some in the southern Coastal Range in Chile. Existing spatially explicit genetic data from multiple populations and species can help to identify biodiversity hotspots and guide conservation actions to establish science-based protected areas that will preserve the evolutionary potential of key habitats and species. Resumen Al momento de elaborar planes de conservación se requiere establecer prioridades a la misma escala espacial en la que ocurren los procesos de toma de decisiones, teniendo en cuenta todos los niveles de la biodiversidad. Sin embargo los métodos actuales para identificar hotspots de biodiversidad ignoran su componente genética. En este trabajo desarrollamos un enfoque a escala espacial fina sobre la base de la definición de hotspots genéticos, que son áreas que contienen una alta diversidad genética y variantes únicas, representando su potencial evolutivo y sus
Genetic diversity and differentiation in south-western Australian bloodwoods (
Australian Journal of Botany
An understanding of how variation is shared within and among closely related species is important for understanding evolutionary processes and managing biological diversity. We studied genetic structure in the three species occurring in south-western Australia that form the small and distinct monophyletic section Calophyllae of the genus Corymbia. We compared diversity in nuclear microsatellites and chloroplast DNA sequences in two species with patchy distributions, namely, Corymbia haematoxylon (Maiden) K.D. Hill & L.A.S. Johnson and Corymbia ficifolia (F. Muell.) K.D. Hill & L.A.S. Johnson, with that in the widespread congener, C. calophylla (Lindl.) K.D. Hill & L.A.S. Johnson. Consistent with predictions for the influence of range and abundance on genetic structure in the Australian flora, population differentiation was higher in the two restricted patchy species than in the widespread, semicontinuous C. calophylla. Genetic diversity in C. haematoxylon was similar to that in C. c...