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Fine- and local- scale genetic structure of Dysoxylum malabaricum, a late-successional canopy tree species in disturbed forest patches in the Western Ghats, India

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Abstract

Dysoxylum malabaricum (white cedar) is an economically important tree species, endemic to the Western Ghats, India, which is the world’s most densely populated biodiversity hotspot. In this study, we used variation at ten nuclear simple sequence repeat loci to investigate genetic diversity and fine scale spatial genetic structure (FSGS) in seedlings and adults of D. malabaricum from four forest patches in the northern part of the Western Ghats. When genetic variation was compared between seedlings and adults across locations, significant differences were detected in allelic richness, observed heterozygosity, fixation index (F IS), and relatedness (P < 0.05). Reduced genetic diversity and increased relatedness at the seedling stage might be due to fragmentation and disturbance. There was no FSGS at the adult stage and FSGS was limited to shorter distance classes at the seedling stage. However, there was clear spatial genetic structure at the landscape level (<50 km), regardless of age class, due to limited gene flow between forest patches. A comparison of the distributions of size classes in the four locations with published data from a more southern area, showed that large trees (diameter at breast height, DBH, >130 cm) are present in the southern sacred forests but not in the northern forest reserves. This pattern is likely due to stronger harvesting pressure in the north compared to the south, because in the north there are no cultural taboos regulating the extraction of natural resources. The implications for forest conservation in this biodiversity hotspot are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Ashwini S, Sumangala R.C, Jagadish M.R. and Priti Gururaj for their assistance and support in our work in the field and laboratory. This study was supported by a grant from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).

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  1. Yoshiaki Tsuda

    Present address: Sugadaira Montane Research Center, University of Tsukuba, 1278-294 Sugadairakogen, Ueda, Nagano, 386-2204, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Plant Ecology and Evolution, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden

    Sofia Bodare, Martin Lascoux & Yoshiaki Tsuda

  2. Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur Post, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560064, India

    Gudasalamani Ravikanth & Ramanan Uma Shaanker

  3. School of Ecology and Conservation, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India

    Gudasalamani Ravikanth, Mohana Kumara Patel & Ramanan Uma Shaanker

  4. Ecosystem Management, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätsstrasse 16, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Sascha A. Ismail

  5. Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy

    Ilaria Spanu & Giovanni Giuseppe Vendramin

  6. Department of Forest Biology, College of Forestry, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Sirsi, Karnataka, 581401, India

    Ramesh Vasudeva

  7. Department of Crop Physiology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India

    Ramanan Uma Shaanker

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  1. Sofia Bodare
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Supplementary material 1 (PDF 114 kb) Distribution of size classes of adult D. malabricum trees in the Coorg population examined by Ismail et al. (2014). Size is given as diameter at breast height (DBH) in cm

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Bodare, S., Ravikanth, G., Ismail, S.A. et al. Fine- and local- scale genetic structure of Dysoxylum malabaricum, a late-successional canopy tree species in disturbed forest patches in the Western Ghats, India. Conserv Genet 18, 1–15 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-016-0877-7

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