The structure of population genetic diversity in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vallisneria</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">americana</Emphasis> in the Chesapeake Bay: implications for restoration |
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Authors: | Michael W Lloyd Jr" target="_blank">Robert K BurnettJr Katharina A M Engelhardt Maile C Neel |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland-College Park, 2102 Plant Sciences Building, College Park, MD 20742-4452, USA;(2) Department of Entomology, University of Maryland-College Park, 2102 Plant Sciences Building, College Park, MD 20742-4452, USA;(3) Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, 301 Braddock Road, Frostburg, MD 21532-2307, USA;(4) 2102 Plant Sciences Building, College Park, MD 20742-4452, USA |
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Abstract: | Submersed aquatic macrophyte beds provide important ecosystem services, yet their distribution and extent has declined worldwide
in aquatic ecosystems. Effective restoration of these habitats will require, among other factors, reintroduction of genetically
diverse source material that can withstand short- and long-term environmental fluctuations in environmental conditions. We
examined patterns of genetic diversity in Vallisneria
americana because it is a cosmopolitan freshwater submersed aquatic macrophyte and is commonly used for restoring freshwater habitats.
We sampled 26 naturally occurring populations of V. americana in the Chesapeake Bay estuary and its tributaries and found that the majority of populations have high genotypic diversity
and are not highly inbred. Fourteen of the populations had high allelic and genotypic diversity and could serve as source
sites for restoration material. However, substantial geographic structuring of genetic diversity suggests that caution should
be used in moving propagules to locations distant from their source. In particular, we suggest that propagules at least be
limited within four primary geographic areas that correspond to freshwater tidal and non-tidal, oligohaline, and seasonally
mesohaline areas of the Chesapeake Bay. |
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