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Morphological and genetic variations of Potentilla matsumurae (Rosaceae) between fellfield and snowbed populations
Author(s) -
Shimono Yoshiko,
Watanabe Mikio,
Hirao Akira S.,
Wada Naoya,
Kudo Gaku
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.3732/ajb.0800242
Subject(s) - biology , local adaptation , ecology , habitat , alpine plant , adaptation (eye) , gene flow , snowmelt , parapatric speciation , ecosystem , genetic variation , population , gene , biochemistry , demography , neuroscience , sociology , surface runoff
Identifying ecological factors associated with local differentiation of populations is important for understanding microevolutionary processes. Alpine environments offer a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of habitat‐specific selective forces and gene flow limitations among populations at a microscale on local adaptation because the heterogeneous snowmelt patterns in alpine ecosystems provide steep environmental changes. We investigated the variation in morphological traits and enzyme loci between fellfield and snowbed populations of Potentilla matsumurae , a common alpine herb with a wide distribution along snowmelt gradients in northern Japan. We found significant differences in morphological traits between fellfield and snowbed habitats in a northern distribution region. These differences were maintained when plants were grown under uniform conditions in a greenhouse. Allozyme variations among 15 populations from geographically separated regions with different historical backgrounds showed that the populations are more genetically differentiated between the fellfield and snowbed habitats within a region than between populations occupying the same habitat type in different regions. These results suggest that variation in snowmelt regimes could be a driving force creating local adaptation and genetic differentiation of alpine plant populations.