ALLOZYME AND MORPHOLOGICAL DIFFERENTIATION OF MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLES DENDROCTONUS PONDEROSAE HOPKINS (COLEOPTERA: SCOLYTIDAE) ASSOCIATED WITH HOST TREE

The purpose of this study was to determine whether mountain pine beetles utilizing different host species were differentiated for either morphological or protein variation. Genetic differentiation among host species has been reported for the southern pine beetle, the Douglas-fir beetle, the jeffrey pine beetle, and the mountain pine beetle. However, in these studies, the host trees were sampled at separate sites, and hence geographic variation and variation due to host tree were confounded. The mountain pine beetle occasionally utilizes three host trees (ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, and limber pine) at single sites in Colorado. Five polymorphic enzyme loci and six morphological characters were used to describe beetles resident in different hosts. Differentiation within a site among host trees was detected at two of five polymorphic proteins, and for both size and morphological shape. The magnitude of genetic differentiation among hosts within a site was approximately equivalent to the magnitude of differentiation among sites. These data suggest that the species of host tree may be an important biotic factor associated with the genetic structure of bark beetle communities. The results are discussed in terms of their potential role in the process of speciation by host race formation.     

Local-scale genetic structure in the peatmoss Sphagnum fuscum

Sphagnum (peatmoss) dominates huge areas of the Northern Hemisphere and acts as a significant carbon sink on a global scale, yet little is known about the genetic structure of Sphagnum populations. We investigated genetic structure within a population of the common peatmoss Sphagnum fuscum, to assess local patterns of genetic diversity and the spatial extent of clones. One hundred seventeen shoots were sampled from five transects in Fuglmyra, central Norway, and sequenced for three anonymous DNA regions. Five neighbourhood patches were marked along each transect, and from each patch, five stems were sampled for molecular analyses. Seventeen haplotypes could be distinguished and two major groups of haplotypes differed by 12 mutational steps. The two major haplotype groups differed significantly in microhabitat association along the distance to groundwater table and the pH gradients, indicating microhabitat differentiation. The haplotypes within these groups were all genetically similar, differing by one or two mutations. The most common haplotype occurred in four transects separated by 250-m distance. Most of the molecular variation in the population was found among transects, and within patches. Large dominating clones within each transect resulted in low variation explained by the among-patch-within-transect component of spatial structure. Mutation appears to account for a larger proportion of the population variation than recombination. Within the population, vegetative growth and asexual reproduction from gametophyte fragments dominate as the main reproductive mode.     

Lack of genetic differentiation in aggressive and secondary bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) from Arizona

Bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) play an important role as disturbance agents in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex Lawson) forests of Arizona. However, from 2001 to 2003, elevated bark beetle activity caused unprecedented levels of ponderosa pine mortality. A better understanding of the population structure of these species will facilitate analysis of their dispersal patterns and improve management strategies. Here, we use fluorescently labeled amplified fragment length polymorphism (fAFLP) analysis to resolve genetic variation among and within sampling locations in northcentral Arizona of Ips pini (Say), Dendroctonus brevicomis LeConte, and D. frontalis Zimmermann. We generated genetic fingerprints for >500 beetle specimens and analyzed genetic diversity. For all species, gene flow estimates among sampling locations were high, and significant population subdivision was not discernible across a large portion of ponderosa pine forests in Arizona. However, a weak relationship was detected with I. pini population structure and elevation. Because of the lack of genetic differentiation detected throughout the large study area, our findings suggest these insects are capable of long distance dispersal and exhibit a high degree of gene flow across a broad region. We conclude that our results are consistent with strong dispersal patterns and large population sizes of all three species.     

Contrasting effects of mosaic structure on alpha and beta diversity of bird assemblages in a human‐modified landscape

Habitat loss and fragmentation are key processes causing biodiversity loss in human‐modified landscapes. Knowledge of these processes has largely been derived from measuring biodiversity at the scale of ‘within‐habitat’ fragments with the surrounding landscape considered as matrix. Yet, the loss of variation in species assemblages ‘among’ habitat fragments (landscape‐scale) may be as important a driver of biodiversity loss as the loss of diversity ‘within’ habitat fragments (local‐scale). We tested the hypothesis that heterogeneity in vegetation cover is important for maintaining alpha and beta diversity in human‐modified landscapes. We surveyed bird assemblages in eighty 300‐m‐long transects nested within twenty 1‐km² vegetation ‘mosaics’, with mosaics assigned to four categories defined by the cover extent and configuration of native eucalypt forest and exotic pine plantation. We examined bird assemblages at two spatial scales: 1) within and among transects, and 2) within and among mosaics. Alpha diversity was the mean species diversity within‐transects or within‐mosaics and beta diversity quantified the effective number of compositionally distinct transects or mosaics. We found that within‐transect alpha diversity was highest in vegetation mosaics defined by continuous eucalypt forest, lowest in mosaics of continuous pine plantation, and at intermediate levels in mosaics containing eucalypt patches in a pine matrix. We found that eucalypt mosaics had lower beta diversity than other mosaic types when ignoring relative abundances, but had similar or higher beta diversity when weighting with species abundances. Mosaics containing both pine and eucalypt forest differed in their bird compositional variation among transects, despite sharing a similar suite of species. This configuration effect at the mosaic scale reflected differences in vegetation composition among transects. Maintaining heterogeneity in vegetation cover could help to maintain variation among bird assemblages across landscapes, thus partially offsetting local‐scale diversity losses due to fragmentation. Critical to this is the retention of remnant native vegetation.     

THE EXTENT OF INTROGRESSION OUTSIDE THE CONTACT ZONE BETWEEN NOTROPIS CORNUTUS AND NOTROPIS CHRYSOCEPHALUS (TELEOSTEI: CYPRINIDAE)

The cyprinid fishes, Notropis cornutus and N. chrysocephalus, hybridize in a long, narrow zone in the midwestern United States. To quantify the extent of introgression of genetic markers outside of this zone, samples were collected along transects starting near the region of contact (as defined by morphological characters), followed by samples progressively more distant. Diagnostic allozymic and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) restriction site markers were used to estimate the extent of introgression outside of the zone, while polymorphic allozyme and mtDNA markers were used to evaluate the potential for gene flow among populations within transects. Analysis of populations from the northern transect provided evidence for differentiation of populations for some of the markers; however, on average, enough gene flow has occurred to overcome substantial differentiation. Introgressed mtDNA and allozyme haplotypes were rare and found only in the population closest to the contact zone. The rarity of introgressed alleles in the more northern populations is consistent with the recent origin of these populations after the Wisconsin glaciation (less than 12,000 years bp) and/or selection maintaining the northern boundary of the contact zone. Analysis of populations from the southern transect revealed evidence for population subdivision but no evidence for introgression at the diagnostic allozyme loci; however, nearly all individuals from this transect possessed introgressed mtDNA haplotypes, with samples furthest from the contact zone exhibiting the highest frequencies of introgression. Patterns of variation for one of the polymorphic allozyme markers (Est-A) and introgressed mtDNAs were highly correlated, suggesting that allozymic heterogeneity at this locus is also the result of introgression. The most likely explanation for these data is that these introgressed haplotypes are indicators of a more southern position of the contact zone during the Pleistocene, with the contact zone shifting northward with the recession of the glacial front. Such movement implicates selection in the maintenance of distributional limits of these species, and hence, the width and position of the contact zone.     

大别山山核桃种群遗传多样性研究

为了更有效地保护和合理开发大别山山核桃(Carya dabieshanensis)资源,该文利用RAPD分子标记技术,对3个天然大别山山核桃种群的90个单株的遗传多样性、种群内和种群间的遗传变异进行了研究,结果表明:20对10 bp随机引物共检测到238条谱带,其中多态带为162条,占68.1%。遗传多样性分析结果显示: Shannon多样性指数为0.476 1,58.18%的变异分布于群体内,而种群间变异占了41.82%;Nei指数群体总基因多样度为0.314 5,群体内平均基因多样度(H_S)为0.186 5,群体间的基因多样度(H_ST)为0.128 0,群体Nei基因分化系数(G_ST)为0.406 7,说明40.67%的变异存在于种群间,群体内的变异占了总变异的59.33%,与Shannon多样性指数相比基本一致,均表明种群内有较丰富的遗传变异,这为优良品种选育提供广阔前景;种群间的基因流(N_m)为0.730 6,证明种群间遗传交换较小,这与环境适应性和高山阻隔有一定的关系。     

Among population differentiation at nuclear genes in native Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Scotland

In the Scottish Highlands, Scots pine is at the north-western extreme of its wide natural distribution. Here, the remaining native populations are patchily distributed in highly variable environments, from the more continental, drier eastern Highlands to the milder, wetter Atlantic Ocean coast. As these pinewoods are the remnants of a naturally established forest, they form a valuable system for analysis of genetic and adaptive variation in heterogeneous environments. Using samples from across the Scottish population, we analysed data from nuclear and mitochondrial genes to assess patterns of within and between population genetic variation. Within population diversity levels were high, and significant genetic differentiation among pairs of Scottish populations at relatively small spatial scales was present at several nuclear loci. At these loci, no differentiation had been found among continental populations, even those separated by large geographic distances. Overall, no clear clustering of Scottish samples was found in population structure analysis suggesting that geographically distant populations with high intra-population nucleotide diversity are not strongly isolated or diverged from each other. Scottish populations lacked a mitotype that is widespread in eastern and north-eastern Europe, indicating that pines from that area may not have participated in the most recent colonisation of the British Isles.     

Chloroplast DNA Diversity among Trees, Populations and Species in the California Closed-Cone Pines (Pinus Radiata, Pinus Muricata and Pinus Attenuata)

The amount, distribution and mutational nature of chloroplast DNA polymorphisms were studied via analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphisms in three closely related species of conifers, the California closed-cone pines-knobcone pine: Pinus attenuata Lemm.; bishop pine: Pinus muricata D. Don; and Monterey pine: Pinus radiata D. Don. Genomic DNA from 384 trees representing 19 populations were digested with 9-20 restriction enzymes and probed with cloned cpDNA fragments from Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] that comprise 82% of the chloroplast genome. Up to 313 restriction sites were surveyed, and 25 of these were observed to be polymorphic among or within species. Differences among species accounted for the majority of genetic (haplotypic) diversity observed [G(st) = 84(+/-13)%]; nucleotide diversity among species was estimated to be 0.3(+/-0.1)%. Knobcone pine and Monterey pine displayed almost no genetic variation within or among populations. Bishop pine also showed little variability within populations, but did display strong population differences [G(st) = 87(+/-8)%] that were a result of three distinct geographic groups. Mean nucleotide diversity within populations was 0.003(+/-0.002)%; intrapopulation polymorphisms were found in only five populations. This pattern of genetic variation contrasts strongly with findings from study of nuclear genes (allozymes) in the group, where most genetic diversity resides within populations rather than among populations or species. Regions of the genome subject to frequent length mutations were identified; estimates of subdivision based on length variant frequencies in one region differed strikingly from those based on site mutations or allozymes. Two trees were identified with a major chloroplast DNA inversion that closely resembled one documented between Pinus and Pseudotsuga.     

Genetic Variation and Differentiation of Larix decidua Populations in Swiss Alps (in English)

Genetic diversity within and among six subpopulations of Larix decidua Mill. from two altitudinal transects of Swiss Alps was investigated using 6 enzyme systems coding for 8 loci. Globally, the mean proportion of polymorphic loci was 22.9%, the average number of alleles per locus was 1.3, and the mean expected heterozygosity was 0.095. Only 5.8% of the genetic variation resided among populations. The mean genetic distance was 0.006. Several significant differences of gene frequencies were found between different age classes. Positive values of the species mean fixation index observed in this study suggested a considerable deficit of heterozygotes in the populations of L. decidua of Swiss Alps. At one of the sites (Arpette), the highest subpopulation in elevation gave the lowest level of genetic diversity (as evidenced by the lowest proportion of polymorphic loci and the lowest mean expected heterozygosity) and the largest value of genetic distance when compared to other subpopulations. The genetic differences between the highest subpopulation and the other ones suggest that the founder effect may be an important factor influencing genetic differentiation of L. decidua populations at Arpette transect.     

不同海拔高度大血藤群体遗传多样性的RAPD分析及其与环境因子的相关性

利用 RAPD技术分析了分布于浙江省天台山 3个不同海拔高度的天然大血藤群体的遗传多样性、遗传分化以及与环境因子的相关性。 13种随机引物在 3 6株个体中共检测到 88个可重复的位点 ,其中多态位点 74个 ,总多态位点百分率为84.0 9% ,大血藤具有丰富的遗传多样性。 Shannon信息指数显示的遗传多样性以海拔 950 m的群体为最高 ,其次是海拔 73 0 m的群体 ,最低的是海拔 52 0 m的群体 ;群体内的遗传多样性占总遗传多样性的 43 .68% ,群体间的遗传多样性占 56.3 2 %。 Nei指数估计大血藤群体间的遗传分化系数为 0 .540 6,大血藤群体间的基因流很低。大血藤海拔 73 0 m群体与海拔 52 0 m群体的遗传相似度较高 ,海拔 950 m群体与其它两群体的遗传相似度较低。大血藤群体内的遗传多样性与土壤总氮呈极显著的正相关。     

瑞士阿尔卑斯山欧洲落叶松居群的遗传变异和分化

应用等位酶分析技术,沿两个海拔梯度在瑞士阿尔卑斯山研究了欧洲落叶松（Larix decidua Mill.)居群内和居群间的遗传多态性,结果表明,多态性位点的比例为22.9%,平均每个位点的等位基因数为1.3,平均期望杂合度为0.095,遗传变异的5.8%存在于居群之间,平均遗传距离为0.006。几个有统计意义的基因频率差别在不同树龄类被发现,正在繁育系数值表明在瑞士阿尔卑斯山欧洲落叶松居群有相当的杂合体缺乏,在阿尔拜特（Ar-pette),海拔最高的亚居群与其他亚居群相比较显示最低的遗传多态性（如显示最低的我态性位点比例和最低的平均期望杂合度）和最大的遗传距离值,在最高亚居群和其他亚居群间的遗传差别暗示奠基效应可能是影响这个定样场所欧洲落叶松居群遗传分化的主要因素。     

Spatial variation in vegetation structure coupled to plant available water determined by two-dimensional soil resistivity profiling in a Brazilian savanna

Tropical savannas commonly exhibit large spatial heterogeneity in vegetation structure. Fine-scale patterns of soil moisture, particularly in the deeper soil layers, have not been well investigated as factors possibly influencing vegetation patterns in savannas. Here we investigate the role of soil water availability and heterogeneity related to vegetation structure in an area of the Brazilian savanna (Cerrado). Our objective was to determine whether horizontal spatial variations of soil water are coupled with patterns of vegetation structure across tens of meters. We applied a novel methodological approach to convert soil electrical resistivity measurements along three 275-m transects to volumetric water content and then to estimates of plant available water (PAW). Structural attributes of the woody vegetation, including plant position, height, basal circumference, crown dimensions, and leaf area index, were surveyed within twenty-two 100-m² plots along the same transects, where no obvious vegetation gradients had been apparent. Spatial heterogeneity was evaluated through measurements of spatial autocorrelation in both PAW and vegetation structure. Comparisons with null models suggest that plants were randomly distributed over the transect with the greatest mean PAW and lowest PAW heterogeneity, and clustered in the driest and most heterogeneous transect. Plant density was positively related with PAW in the top 4 m of soil. The density-dependent vegetation attributes that are related to plot biomass, such as sum of tree heights per plot, exhibited spatial variation patterns that were remarkably similar to spatial variation of PAW in the top 4 m of soil. For PAW below 4 m depth, mean vegetation attributes, such as mean height, were negatively correlated with PAW, suggesting greater water uptake from the deep soil by plants of larger stature. These results are consistent with PAW heterogeneity being an important structuring factor in the plant distribution at the scale of tens of meters in this ecosystem.     

Effect of altitude on the genetic structure of an Alpine grass, Poa hiemata

Background and Aims

The persistence of plants inhabiting restricted alpine areas under climate change will depend upon many factors including levels of genetic variation in adaptive traits, population structure, and breeding system.

Methods

Using microsatellite markers, the genetic structure of populations of a relatively common alpine grass, Poa hiemata, is examined across three altitudinal gradients within the restricted Australian alpine zone where this species has previously been shown to exhibit local adaptation across a narrow altitudinal gradient.

Key Results

Genetic variation across six microsatellite markers revealed genetic structuring along altitudinal transects, and a reduction in genetic variation at high and low altitude extremes relative to sites central within transects. There was less genetic variation among transect sites compared with altitudinal gradients within transects, even though distances among transects were relatively larger. Central sites within transects were less differentiated than those at extremes.

Conclusions

These patterns suggest higher rates of gene flow among sites at similar altitudes than along transects, a process that could assist altitudinal adaptation. Patterns of spatial autocorrelation and isolation by distance changed with altitude and may reflect altered patterns of dispersal via pollen and/or seed. There was evidence for selfing and clonality in neighbouring plants. Levels of gene flow along transects were insufficient to prevent adaptive changes in morphological traits, given previously measured levels of selection.Key words: Poa hiemata, genetic structure, altitudinal gradient, microsatellite, gene flow, climate change     

Scale insect allozyme differentiation within and between host trees

Summary Allelic frequencies and genotypic distributions in three polymorphic enzyme systems demonstrated genetic differentiation over extraordinarily short distances in a population of black pineleaf scale insects infesting ponderosa pine trees. A hierarchical analysis of the population genetic structure showed significant differences between demes on different twigs within individual host trees, between demes on neighboring trees, and between demes in pine plots on adjacent city blocks. Allelic frequencies at a malic enzyme locus were associated with deme-to-deme variation in ecological correlates of insect fitness, suggesting adaptive hypotheses about the causes of population subdivision.     

Population genetics of Caenorhabditis elegans: the paradox of low polymorphism in a widespread species

Caenorhabditis elegans has become one of the most widely used model research organisms, yet we have little information on evolutionary processes and recent evolutionary history of this widespread species. We examined patterns of variation at 20 microsatellite loci in a sample of 23 natural isolates of C. elegans from various parts of the world. One-half of the loci were monomorphic among all strains, and overall genetic variation at microsatellite loci was low, relative to most other species. Some population structure was detected, but there was no association between the genetic and geographic distances among different natural isolates. Thus, despite the nearly worldwide occurrence of C. elegans, little evidence was found for local adaptation in strains derived from different parts of the world. The low levels of genetic variation within and among populations suggest that recent colonization and population expansion might have occurred. However, the patterns of variation are not consistent with population expansion. A possible explanation for the observed patterns is the action of background selection to reduce polymorphism, coupled with ongoing gene flow among populations worldwide.     

Population structure in the American oyster as inferred by nuclear gene genealogies

Multiple haplotypes from each of three nuclear loci were isolated and sequenced from geographic populations of the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica. In tests of alternative phylogeographic hypotheses for this species, nuclear gene genealogies constructed for these haplotypes were compared to one another, to a mitochondrial gene tree, and to patterns of allele frequency variation in nuclear restriction site polymorphisms (RFLPs) and allozymes. Oyster populations from the Atlantic versus the Gulf of Mexico are not reciprocally monophyletic in any of the nuclear gene trees, despite considerable genetic variation and despite large allele frequency differences previously reported in several other genetic assays. If these populations were separated vicariantly in the past, either insufficient time has elapsed for neutral lineage sorting to have achieved monophyly at most nuclear loci, or balancing selection may have inhibited lineage extinction, or secondary gene flow may have moved haplotypes between regions. These and other possibilities are examined in light of available genetic evidence, and it is concluded that no simple explanation can account for the great variety of population genetic patterns across loci displayed by American oysters. Regardless of the source of this heterogeneity, this study provides an empirical demonstration that different sequences of DNA within the same organismal pedigree can have quite different phylogeographic histories.      

Cytonuclear disequilibrium and genetic drift in a natural population of ponderosa pine

We measured the cytonuclear disequilibrium between 11 nuclear allozyme loci and both mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA haplotypes in a natural population of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa, Laws). Three allozyme loci showed significant associations with mtDNA variation, while two other loci showed significant association with cpDNA. However, the absolute number of individuals involved in any of the associations was small, such that in none of the nuclear-organellar combinations was the difference between observed and expected numbers >11 individuals. Patterns of association were not consistent across loci or organellar genomes, suggesting that they are not the result of mating patterns, which would act uniformly on all loci. This pattern of disequilibria is consistent with the action of genetic drift and with existing knowledge of the structure of this population and thus does not imply the action of other evolutionary processes. The overall magnitude (normalized disequilibrium) of associations was greater for maternally inherited mtDNA than for paternally inherited cpDNA, though this difference was neither large nor significant. Such significant disequilibria involving the paternally inherited organelle indicate that not only are there a limited number of seed parents, but the effective number of pollen parents is also limited.     

GENETIC VARIATION IN CACTOPHILIC DROSOPHILA FOR OVIPOSITION ON NATURAL YEAST SUBSTRATES

Theory predicts that environmental heterogeneity in space or in time can maintain genetic polymorphism. Stable polymorphisms are expected to be more readily maintained if there are genotype specific habitat preferences. Genotype specific preferences for oviposition sites in Drosophila could be a major factor promoting habitat selection, and thus the maintenance of genetic variation. This hypothesis is being tested using the cactophilic species, D. buzzatii and D. aldrichi, where available evidence indicates a potential for such habitat selection, the habitats (oviposition sites) being yeast species found in the natural environment of these flies (cactus rots). Genetic variation for oviposition preferences was tested using isofemale lines—for D. buzzatii, a total of 60 lines from seven localities widely distributed through the species range in Australia, and for D. aldrichi, 21 lines from three of these localities. Females were given a choice of five yeast species as oviposition sites. Genetic variation for oviposition preferences on these natural substrates was demonstrated. There was significant variation among isofemale lines within populations in their patterns of preferences for oviposition on the five yeast species. However, analyses of preferences for each yeast species separately showed that the genetic variation for preferences relates to only three of the five species. Heritabilities of individual female preferences for these three species were low, ranging up to 9%. Little geographic differentiation was apparent among populations, most likely due to similar selection regimes within each population. Within populations, this kind of habitat selection could act to maintain polymorphisms, both at loci determining the habitat preferences and at other loci in linkage disequilibrium with them.     

不同植物类群物种丰富度垂直格局分形特征的比较

格局和过程一直是生态学的核心问题,该文应用“非布朗运动随机分形”模型,在北京东灵山远离人为干扰地区的阴坡设置了两条宽2 m的样带,描述和比较了暖温带落叶阔叶林区乔木、灌木、草本以及总的植物物种丰富度在不同尺度上沿海拔梯度变异特征,以及相关的生态过程。研究结果表明:1)直接梯度法刻画了植物物种丰富度在海拔梯度上的总体变化趋势,并不能从中获得更多的信息。“非布朗运动随机分形”模型揭示了不同尺度上物种丰富度的空间变化并能和生态过程相联系,研究表明该模型适合对乔木、灌木和草本植物物种丰富度的垂直梯度格局特征进行描述,但对总的植物物种丰富度有一定的局限性。2)乔木物种丰富度在海拔梯度上的变化主要受两种生态过程的控制,小尺度上分形维数接近于2,主要受独立的不具有长程相关的生态过程控制,呈近随机分布;大尺度上分形维数接近于1,主要受自相关范围大、具有长程关联特性的生态过程控制,随海拔上升呈近似单调下降的趋势。灌木和草本物种丰富度在海拔梯度上的变化主要受3种生态过程的控制,小尺度和大尺度上的特征与乔木相似;但在中等尺度上,分形维数接近于1.5,它们以近似布朗运动的形式变化。虽然乔木和灌木物种丰富度在海拔梯度上变化的尺度范围相似,但决定它们的主要生态过程完全不同,或相同的生态过程以截然不同的方式作用于两种不同的植物类群。总的植物物种丰富度在整个尺度范围内呈现标度不变性,这可能是由于决定其变化的生态过程作用尺度紧密相关,也可能因为该文研究范围的局限性。     

Spatial and population genetic structure of microsatellites in white pine

We evaluated the population genetic structure of seven microsatellite loci for old growth and second growth populations of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). From each population, located within Hartwick Pines State Park, Grayling, Michigan, USA, 120-122 contiguous trees were sampled for genetic analysis. Within each population, genetic diversity was high and inbreeding low. When comparing these populations, there is a significant, but small (less than 1%), genetic divergence between populations. Spatial distance between populations or timber harvest at the second growth site were reasonable explanations for the observed minor differences in allele frequencies between populations. Spatial autocorrelation analysis suggested that, for the old growth population, weak positive structuring at 15 m fits the isolation by distance model for a neighbourhood size of about 100 individuals. In comparison, genotypes were randomly distributed in the second growth population. Thus, logging may have decreased spatial structuring at the second growth site, suggesting that management practices may be used to alter natural spatial patterns. In addition, the amount of autocorrelation in the old growth population appears to be lower for some of the microsatellites, suggesting higher numbers of rare alleles and that higher mutation rates may have directly affected spatial statistics by reducing structure.