AOBPreview originally published online on October 6, 2009
Annals of Botany 2009 104(7):1421-1434; doi:10.1093/aob/mcp252
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Paternity analysis-based inference of pollen dispersal patterns, male fecundity variation, and influence of flowering tree density and general flowering magnitude in two dipterocarp species
1 Forestry Division, Japan International Research Centre for Agricultural Sciences, Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8686, Japan
2 Department of Forest Genetics, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan
3 Forestry Biotechnology Division, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, 52109 Kepong, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
4 Environmental Biology Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan
5 Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima 739-8521, Japan
* For correspondence. E-mail ntani{at}affrc.go.jp
Received: 10 May 2009 Returned for revision: 7 July 2009 Accepted: 10 September 2009 Published electronically: 6 October 2009
Background and Aims: Knowledge of pollen dispersal patterns and variation of fecundity is essential to understanding plant evolutionary processes and to formulating strategies to conserve forest genetic resources. Nevertheless, the pollen dispersal pattern of dipterocarp, main canopy tree species in palaeo-tropical forest remains unclear, and flowering intensity variation in the field suggests heterogeneity of fecundity.
Methods: Pollen dispersal patterns and male fecundity variation of Shorea leprosula and Shorea parvifolia ssp. parvifolia on Peninsular Malaysian were investigated during two general flowering seasons (2001 and 2002), using a neighbourhood model modified by including terms accounting for variation in male fecundity among individual trees to express heterogeneity in flowering.
Key Results: The pollen dispersal patterns of the two dipterocarp species were affected by differences in conspecific tree flowering density, and reductions in conspecific tree flowering density led to an increased selfing rate. Active pollen dispersal and a larger number of effective paternal parents were observed for both species in the season of greater magnitude of general flowering (2002).
Conclusions: The magnitude of general flowering, male fecundity variation, and distance between pollen donors and mother trees should be taken into account when attempting to predict the effects of management practices on the self-fertilization and genetic structure of key tree species in tropical forest, and also the sustainability of possible management strategies, especially selective logging regimes.
Key words: Dipterocarp, general flowering, male fecundity variation, microsatellite marker, paternity analysis, pollen dispersal, Shorea, tropical forest
Present addresses: Hayama Center for Advanced Studies, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Hayama, Miura-gun, Kanagawa 240-0193, Japan.
Faculty of Urban Environmental Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Minamiohsawa, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan.
Overseas Business Divisions, Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd, Ohtemachi, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-8270, Japan.
# Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8604, Japan.