Background and AimsIn the plant kingdom, gene flow occurs through pollen and seed dispersal, shaping both within-population spatial genetic structure and among-population genetic differentiation. Anthropogenic land-use change can affect levels of gene flow by reducing pollinator abundance and altering pollen and seed dispersal pathways. Yet, how environmental features shape gene flow events in common herbaceous plants - a fundamental building block of many ecosystems - remains poorly understood. We address this gap by investigating how environmental context influences population genetic structure at regional and local scales in the red campion (Silene dioica).
MethodsBy sampling 1,005 individuals from 29 populations across habitats ranging from semi-natural to strongly human-altered, we assessed whether population size and landscape composition influenced within-population genetic diversity and population genetic differentiation. At the local scale, we examined whether landscape composition affected fine-scale spatial genetic structure and pollen dispersal distances in a subset of six populations representing the two extremes of an anthropogenic gradient.
Jolivel, C. et al. · CC-BY 4.0