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Quality of Seeds Produced by Psychotria tenuinervis (Rubiaceae): Distance from Anthropogenic and Natural Edges of Atlantic Forest Fragment

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The aim of this study was to investigate whether there were differences in the genetic variability and rate and velocity of the seed germination produced by Psychotria tenuinervis located at anthropogenic edges, natural edges, and in the forest interior. The populations of P. tenuinervis showed no differences in genetic variability or structure among the three habitats. There was, however, an indication of inbreeding, which was significantly higher in natural edges than in anthropogenic edges and the forest interior. Within-habitat variation was considerable, but there were no differences in seed mass or rate and velocity of germination among the three habitats. These results suggest that seed characteristics were not influenced by the genetic pattern of P. tenuinervis and that other characteristics of the forest fragment, such as gaps, edge age, and type of matrix exert more influence on seed mass and germination than the distance from the edges.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Vanessa Rosseto, Maíra T. Ribeiro, and Carolina B. Virillo for help with the field work, and Aluana G. Abreu and Sónia C. S. Andrade for help in the laboratory. We also thank Aluana G. Abreu, Fabio R. Scarano, Flavia F. Jesus, Keith S. B. Junior, and Maria I. Zucchi for valuable comments on the manuscript, and Stephen Hyslop and Jim Hesson for correcting the English. Pedro L. R. Moraes helped with some analyses, and J. Martin Pujolar and M. Elenas Cagigas helped with the Negst program. This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, grant no. 141569/2000-0), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, grant no. 01/11225-6), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pesso de Nível Superior (PROAP- CAPES). F. A. M. Santos was supported by a grant from CNPq (grant no. 307132/2004-8).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Rua Gabriel Monteiro da Silva 714, Centro, Alfenas, MG, 37130-000, Brazil

    Flavio Nunes Ramos

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética e Evolução, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), CP 6109, Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil

    Juliana José

  3. Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), CP 6109, Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil

    Vera Nisaka Solferini

  4. Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), CP 6109, Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil

    Flavio A. M. Santos

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Correspondence to Flavio Nunes Ramos.

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Ramos, F.N., José, J., Solferini, V.N. et al. Quality of Seeds Produced by Psychotria tenuinervis (Rubiaceae): Distance from Anthropogenic and Natural Edges of Atlantic Forest Fragment. Biochem Genet 45, 441–458 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10528-007-9087-9

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