GENETIC VARIABILITY AND STRUCTURE IN POPULATIONS OF THE KELP POSTELSIA PALMAEFORMIS

Kusumo, H., Pfister, C., & Wootton, T. Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 USA Available experimental and observational data suggest that the sea palm, Postelsia palmaeformis, has short spore dispersal distances. We hypothesized that this dispersal pattern would produce substantial genetic structuring in local populations and identifiable genetic lineages. We sampled individuals from populations 30 m to 2 km apart using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP). We present methods for successfully carrying out AFLP on Postelsia, and give an overview of our initial analyses. As predicted by the life-history of Postelsia, we find evidence of significant geographic differentiation (Fst) of Postelsia populations from as little as 30 m apart. In addition, we outline an experiment to determine parent-offspring relationships.