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Contrasting levels of connectivity and localised persistence characterise the latitudinal distribution of a wind-dispersed rainforest canopy tree

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Abstract

Contrasting signals of genetic divergence due to historic and contemporary gene flow were inferred for Coachwood, Ceratopetalum apetalum (Cunoniaceae), a wind-dispersed canopy tree endemic to eastern Australian warm temperate rainforest. Analysis of nine nuclear microsatellites across 22 localities revealed two clusters between northern and southern regions and with vicariance centred on the wide Hunter River Valley. Within populations diversity was high indicating a relatively high level of pollen dispersal among populations. Genetic variation was correlated to differences in regional biogeography and ecology corresponding to IBRA regions, primary factors being soil type and rainfall. Eleven haplotypes were identified by chloroplast microsatellite analysis from the same 22 localities. A lack of chloroplast diversity within sites demonstrates limited gene flow via seed dispersal. Network representation indicated regional sharing of haplotypes indicative of multiple Pleistocene refugia as well as deep divergences between regional elements of present populations. Chloroplast differentiation between sites in the upper and lower sections of the northern population is reflective of historic vicariance at the Clarence River Corridor. There was no simple vicariance explanation for the distribution of the divergent southern chlorotype, but its distribution may be explained by the effects of drift from a larger initial gene pool. Both the Hunter and Clarence River Valleys represent significant dry breaks within the species range, consistent with this species being rainfall dependent rather than cold-adapted.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Steve Clarke, Maria Cotter, Robert Kooyman, Hannah McPherson, Louisa Murray, Carolyn Connelly, Marlien van der Merwe, Peter Weston and Michael Whitehead for assisting with fieldwork or supplying specimens. We thank Chris Togher, Chris Allen and Rohan Mellick for assistance with the GIS and the map. The project was funded by the Australian Research Council (DP0665859).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Herbarium of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Mrs Macquaries Rd, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia

    Margaret M. Heslewood & Maurizio Rossetto

  2. Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Margaret M. Heslewood & Andrew J. Lowe

  3. Australian Tropical Herbarium, Sir Robert Norman Building (E2), James Cook University Cairns Campus, PO Box 6811, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia

    Darren M. Crayn

Authors
  1. Margaret M. Heslewood
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  2. Andrew J. Lowe
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  4. Maurizio Rossetto
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Correspondence to Margaret M. Heslewood.

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Heslewood, M.M., Lowe, A.J., Crayn, D.M. et al. Contrasting levels of connectivity and localised persistence characterise the latitudinal distribution of a wind-dispersed rainforest canopy tree. Genetica 142, 251–264 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-014-9771-8

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