Living on the edge: Conservation genetics of seven thermophilous plant species in a High Arctic archipelago.

ABSTRACT: Small, isolated, and/or peripheral populations are expected to harbour low levels of genetic variation and may therefore have reduced adaptability to environmental change, including climate warming. In the Arctic, global warming has already caused vegetation change across the region and is acting as a significant stressor on Arctic biodiversity. Many of the rare plants in the Arctic are relicts from early Holocene warm periods, but their ability to benefit from the current warming is dependent on the viability of their populations. We therefore examined Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) data from regional red listed vascular plant species in the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and reference populations from the main distribution area of: 1) Botrychium lunaria, 2) Carex capi

SUBMITTER: Birkeland S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5391696 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature