Performance of Lychnis Flos-Cuculi From Fragmented Populations Under Experimental Biotic Interactions

Abstract

Performance of Lychnis flos-cuculi from fragmented populations under experimental biotic interactions AbstractTo study genetic effects of habitat fragmentation on plant performance and plant response to biotic interactions, we performed a greenhouse study with plants from 27 populations of the common plant Lychnis flos-cuculi differing in size, isolation, and microsatellite heterozygosity. We germinated seeds of 449 plants and grew up to nine offspring per maternal plant in single pots assigned to a factorial competition-by-pathogen infection treatment. We applied competition by sowing seeds of the grass Anthoxanthum odoratum into half of the pots. Moreover, half of the plants were inoculated with infective sporidia of the anther smut Microbotryum violaceum. Significant variation among populations in most size measures indicated genetic differentiation between populations. Plants from smaller populations developed fewer flowers than plants from larger populations indicating a genetic Allee effect. A decrease in flower number was also observed for populations with decreased microsatellite heterozygosity, suggesting higher inbreeding depression. Competition and pathogen infection reduced plant size independently from one another and independent from the fragmentation of the habitats of plant origin. While pathogen infection increased the total number of flowers per plant, it decreased the number of uninfected flowers per plant. This study demonstrates that even common species are negatively affected by habitat fragmentation. At the same time, it suggests little effect of habitat fragmentation on plant response to experimental competition and pathogen infection. Abstract. To study genetic effects of habitat fragmentation on plant performance and plant response to biotic interactions, we performed a greenhouse study with plants from 27 populations of the common plant Lychnis flos-cuculi differing in size, isolation, and microsatellite heterozygosity. We germinated seeds of 449 plants and grew up to nine offspring per maternal plant in single pots assigned to a factorial competition-by-pathogen infection treatment. We applied competition by sowing seeds of the grass Anthoxanthum odoratum into half of the pots. Moreover, half of the plants were inoculated with infective sporidia of the anther smut Microbotryum violaceum. Significant variation among populations in most size measures indicated genetic differentiation between populations. Plants from smaller populations developed fewer flowers than plants from larger populations indicating a genetic Allee effect. A decrease in flower number was also observed for populations with decreased microsatellite heterozygosity, suggesting higher inbreeding depression. Competition and pathogen infection reduced plant size independently from one another and independent from the fragmentation of the habitats of plant origin. While pathogen infection increased the total number of flowers per plant, it decreased the number of uninfected flowers per plant. This study demonstrates that ...

Seed mass and population characteristics interact to determine performance of Scorzonera hispanica under common garden conditions

“…This is in agreement with commonly stated effect of population size on plant performance in fragmented landscapes (Ouborg and van Treuren, 1995;Fischer and Matthies, 1998;Fischer et al, 2000;Galeuchet et al, 2005).…”

“…Hodgkin and Hegarty, 1978;Garbutt and Witcombe, 1986;Girard, 1990;Ouborg and van Treuren, 1995;Fischer and Matthies, 1998;Fischer et al, 2000;Galeuchet et al, 2005; but see Morgan, 1999).…”

Performance and response to defoliation of Sanguisorba officinalis (Rosaceae) seedlings from mown and successional habitats

“…However, population size, density, and genetic diversity of S. officinalis populations did not influence the response of seedlings to defoliation. Thus, our results are in line with other studies on perennial plants that did not find effects of habitat fragmentation on the ability to respond to stress (Galeuchet et al 2005;Paschke et al 2005) and support the findings of a previous study that indicates a minor importance of fragmentation processes for the fitness of S. officinalis in the study area (Musche et al 2008).…”

Pollen dispersal in an insect-pollinated wet meadow herb along an urban river

“…High between-population dye dispersal distances (up to 2.4 km) and high reproductive success (higher than in the agricultural landscape) have been also found for Brussels urban populations of the self-incompatible insect-pollinated herb Centaurea jacea (Van Rossum, in press). By contrast, Galeuchet et al (2005aGaleuchet et al ( , 2005b have reported a lower genetic diversity and inbreeding depression leading to reduce fitness in the small populations of L. flos-cuculi from Swiss non-urban fen meadows and suggested higher selfing rates as a result of lower pollinator abundance. Urban areas like Brussels may still offer a good pollinator service, even better than in farmlands, as they may support large population of pollinating insect species such as generalist bumblebees or butterflies, thanks to the high heterogeneity of the urban landscape, which provides many suitable nesting sites and a high floral diversity, and to a low use of pesticides (Chapman et al, 2003;Tommasi et al, 2004;Kadlec et al, 2008;Osborne et al, 2008).…”