Effects of zoochory (animal seed dispersal) on the spatial genetic structure of plant populations.

Published in Molecular Ecology, 2017

Recommended citation: Gelmi-Candusso, T. A., Heymann, E. W., and Heer, K. (2017). Effects of zoochory on the spatial genetic structure of plant populations. Molecular Ecology. 26, 5896–5910. https://doi:10.1111/mec.14351. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mec.14351

Spatial genetic structure (SGS) of plants results from the nonrandom distribution of related individuals. SGS provides information on gene flow and spatial patterns of genetic diversity within populations. We compared the proportions of studies with SGS among groups and tested for differences in strength of SGS using Sp statistics. The presence of SGS differed among taxonomic groups, with reduced presence in plants dispersed by birds. Strength of SGS was instead significantly influenced by the behaviour of seed dispersal vectors, with higher SGS in plant species dispersed by animals with behavioural traits that result in short seed dispersal distances

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Recommended citation: ‘Gelmi-Candusso, T. A., Heymann, E. W., and Heer, K. (2017). Effects of zoochory on the spatial genetic structure of plant populations. Molecular Ecology. 26, 5896–5910. https://doi:10.1111/mec.14351.’