Journal
ANNALS OF BOTANY
Volume 111, Issue 4, Pages 611-621Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/aob/mct021
Keywords
Elevation; flowering phenology; gene flow; herbs; managed meadows; microsatellites; pollen flow; pollen-pool analysis; Ranunculus bulbosus; Trifolium montanum
Categories
Funding
- Swiss National Fonds for Research [SNF 3100A0-116277]
- S-ENETH
- CCES
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Genetic connectivity between plant populations allows for exchange and dispersal of adaptive genes, which can facilitate plant population persistence particularly in rapidly changing environments. Patterns of historic gene flow, flowering phenology and contemporary pollen flow were investigated in two common herbs, Ranunculus bulbosus and Trifolium montanum, along an altitudinal gradient of 12001800 m a.s.l. over a distance of 1 km among five alpine meadows in Switzerland. Historic gene flow was extensive, as revealed by F-st values of 001 and 0007 in R. bulbosus and T. montanum, respectively, by similar levels of allelic richness among meadows and by the grouping of all individuals into one genetic cluster. Our data suggest contemporary pollen flow is not limited across altitudes in either species but is more pronounced in T. montanum, as indicated by the differential decay of among-sibships correlated paternity with increasing spatial distance. Flowering phenology among meadows was not a barrier to pollen flow in T. montanum, as the large overlap between meadow pairs was consistent with the extensive pollen flow. The smaller flowering overlap among R. bulbosus meadows might explain the slightly more limited pollen flow detected. High levels of pollen flow among altitudes in both R. bulbosus and T. montanum should facilitate exchange of genes which may enhance adaptive responses to rapid climate change.
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