Human Fragmentation Effects Are Genetically Detectable After 6 Years in an Island-Endemic Plant.

ABSTRACT: Anthropogenic disturbances have long been acknowledged to be one of the primary threats to biodiversity worldwide; however, little is still understood about how human-built infrastructure affects gene flow and phylogeographic structure of plants. Such information is helpful for the conservation and restoration of human-disturbed ecosystems. Here we studied the effects of a large reservoir and two expressways on Primulina heterotricha (Gesneriaceae), a short-lived herb endemic to Hainan Island (China), one of the key areas of the globally important Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. By applying comparative phylogeography using one nuclear ribosomal DNA and two chloroplast DNA sequences, we estimated the levels of genetic diversity and differentiation in 176 and 117 individuals collecte

SUBMITTER: Jin WT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12066984 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature