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Genetic diversity and reproductive ecology of the sage-leaved rockrose, Cistus salviifolius L., in the Swiss Alps

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Abstract

Range marginal populations are often perceived to have lower conservation value compared to those in the core area. The allocation of resources to maintain peripheral populations is therefore often questioned. The sage-leaved rockrose (Cistus salviifolius L.) is a self-incompatible and obligate seeder widely distributed in the Mediterranean area but rare and patchily distributed in Switzerland at its range margin on the southern slopes of the Alps. Here, we combined analysis of genetic diversity with pollinator surveys and field studies of reproductive ecology to compare peripheral Cistus populations in the Alps with range central populations in the Mediterranean. Our results showed no differences in genetic diversity between peripheral and central populations and between fragmented and connected ones at its range margin in the Alps. Although the fragmented populations were visited by more abundant and species richer pollinators (bees and wasps), they showed lower number of seeds and higher self-compatibility compared to the connected ones, which excludes the pollination limitation hypothesis. Overall, our study highlights that peripheral populations of C. salviifolius in the Alps are likely to contribute to maintain genetic diversity, while showing variation in reproductive ecology, and are therefore important for the conservation of this species.

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  • 05 April 2020

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Prof. Dr. Alex Widmer, ETH Zurich for his suggestions and great help design the study and analyze the data. S. Karrenberg van der Nat, A. Minder, M.D. Moccia and C. Michel for helping with the manuscript and in the lab. Thanks also to all the team of the Plant Ecological Genetics Institute of Integrative Biology ETH Zurich and the Research group at the WSL Cadenazzo for the map and the helpful suggestions and discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biodiversity and Conservation Ecology, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    Marco Moretti, Paolo Caretti & Anya Bricalli

  2. IBSA Institut Biochimique SA, 6926, Montagnola, Switzerland

    Paolo Caretti

  3. Dipartimento del territorio, Ufficio della natura e del paesaggio, 6501, Bellinzona, Switzerland

    Anya Bricalli

  4. MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, 34200, Sète, France

    Marco Andrello

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  1. Marco Moretti
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Contributions

MM and PC conceived and designed the study. PC collected the plant material in the field and ran the genetic analyses. AB and MM surveyed pollinators and ran the pollination experiment. PC, AB and MA analyzed data. All authors contributed to the writing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Marco Moretti.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Since Cistus salviifolius a vulnerable species in Switzerland, the authors declare that, during the study, they treated the species and population with the greatest respect.

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The investigation at national park was conducted by obtaining due permission.

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Communicated by Marjana Westergren.

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Moretti, M., Caretti, P., Bricalli, A. et al. Genetic diversity and reproductive ecology of the sage-leaved rockrose, Cistus salviifolius L., in the Swiss Alps. Plant Ecol 221, 361–374 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-020-01013-4

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