Hmeljevski et al. 2017 (Article) Encholirium, Brazil

Do plant populations on distinct inselbergs talk to each other? A case study of genetic connectivity of a bromeliad species in an Ocbil landscape

Author(s):—K.V. Hmeljevski, A.G. Nazareno, M. Leandro Bueno, M.S. dos Reis & R.C. Forzza

Publication:—Ecology and Evolution 7(13): 4704-4716. (2017) — DOI

Abstract:—Here, we explore the historical and contemporaneous patterns of connectivity among Encholirium horridum populations located on granitic inselbergs in an Ocbil landscape within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, using both nuclear and chloroplast microsatellite markers. Beyond to assess the E. horridum population genetic structure, we built species distribution models across four periods (current conditions, mid-Holocene, Last Glacial Maximum [LGM], and Last Interglacial) and inferred putative dispersal corridors using a least-cost path analysis to elucidate biogeographic patterns. Overall, high and significant genetic divergence was estimated among populations for both nuclear and plastid DNA (?ST(n) = 0.463 and ?ST(plastid) = 0.961, respectively, p 

Keywords:—Atlantic Forest, conservation genetics, Encholirium horridum, gene flow, landscape genetics, phylogeography, species distribution models