The value of small habitat islands for the conservation of genetic variability in a steppe grass species |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Plant Ecology and Environmental Conservation, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, ul. Żwirki i Wigury 101, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland;2. Department of Botany, Kherson State University, ul. Universytetska 27, 73000 Kherson, Ukraine;1. Núcleo de Ciências Agrárias e Desenvolvimento Rural, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil;2. Núcleo de Ecologia de Insetos, Hexapoda, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil;3. Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil;4. Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil;1. Faculty of Biology, University of Salamanca, C. U. Miguel de Unamuno, E-37007 Salamanca, Spain;2. Department of Geography, University of Bergen, PB 7802, N-5020 Bergen, Norway;1. Departamento de Ciências Naturais, Herbário FURB, Universidade Regional de Blumenau – FURB, Rua Antônio da Veiga, 140, Bairro Victor Konder, 89012-900, Blumenau, SC, Brazil;2. Embrapa Florestas, Estrada da Ribeira, km 111, 83411-000, Colombo, PR, Brazil;3. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Laboratório de Ecologia Teórica e Síntese, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Campus Samambaia, Caixa Postal 131, 74690-900, Goiânia, GO, Brazil;4. Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade Regional de Blumenau – FURB, Rua São Paulo, 3250, 89030-000, Blumenau, SC, Brazil;1. School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050, South Africa;2. Department of Environmental Science, Bindura University of Science Education, Private Bag 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe;3. Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Applied Sciences, National University of Science & Technology, P.O. Box AC 939 Ascot, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe;4. Forest Ecology Laboratory, Faculty of Applied Sciences, National University of Science & Technology, P.O. Box AC 939 Ascot, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe;1. Forest Ecology and Environment Division, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun 248006, Uttarakhand, India;2. Department of Botany, Govt. Degree College, Kathua, 184104, Jammu & Kashmir, India |
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| Abstract: | The habitat loss and fragmentation due to agricultural land-conversion affected the steppe throughout its range. In Ukraine, 95% of steppe was destroyed in the last two centuries. Remaining populations are confined to few refuges, like nature reserves, loess ravines, and kurgans (small burial mounds), the latter being often subject to destruction by archeological excavations.Stipa capillata L. is a typical grass species of Eurasian steppes and extrazonal dry grasslands, that was previously used as a model species in studies on steppe ecology. The aim of our research was to assess genetic diversity of S. capillata populations within different types of steppe refuges (loess ravines, biosphere reserve, kurgan) and to evaluate the value of the latter group for the preservation of genetic diversity in the study species.We assessed genetic diversity of 266 individuals from 15 populations (nine from kurgans, three from loess ravines and three from Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve) with eight Universal Rice Primers (URPs).Studied populations showed high intra-population variability (I: 0.262–0.419, PPB: 52.08–82.64%). Populations from kurgans showed higher genetic differentiation (ΦST = 0.247) than those from loess ravines (ΦST = 0.120) and the biosphere reserve (ΦST = 0.142). Although the diversity metrics were to a small extent lower for populations from kurgans than from larger refugia we conclude that all studied populations of the species still preserve high genetic variability and are valuable for protection. To what extent this pattern holds true under continuous fragmentation in the future must be carefully monitored. |
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| Keywords: | Dry grassland Genetic drift Habitat fragmentation Kurgan Universal rice primer |
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