Seed and pollen gene dispersal in Taxus baccata, a dioecious conifer in the face of strong population fragmentation.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Dispersal is crucial due to its direct impact on dynamics of a species' distribution as well as having a role in shaping adaptive potential through gene flow. In plants forming scarce and small populations, knowledge about the dispersal process is required to assess the potential for colonizing new habitats and connectivity of present and future populations. This study aimed to assess dispersal potential in Taxus baccata, a dioecious gymnosperm tree with a wide but highly fragmented distribution.

Methods

Seed and pollen dispersal kernels were estimated directly in the framework of the spatially explicit mating model, where genealogies of naturally established seedlings were reconstructed with the help of microsatellite markers. In this way, six differentl

SUBMITTER: Chybicki IJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6311948 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature