TY - CONF T1 - Mating patterns in a savanna population of valley oak, Quercus lobata Neé T2 - Fifth Symposium on Oak Woodlands Y1 - 2002 A1 - Sork, V. L. A1 - Davis, F. W. A1 - Dyer, R. J. A1 - Smouse, P. E. AB - California Valley oak is threatened by landscape alteration and failing recruitment in remnant stands. Its reproductive ecology is a key element of the seedling recruitment process. We first examine the mating system, to determine the extent of inbreeding in a population at Sedgwick Reserve, in Santa Barbara County. We then quantify variation in germination success and acorn size, evaluating their spatial patterns across the site. We collected acorns from 21 mapped focal trees in fall 1999, measured their average seed weight and germination success, and identified their multilocus genotypes. Using a mixed mating model, we observed significant, but modest selfing (outcrossing rate: tm = 0.96) and no mating among relatives (tm – ts) = 0.0. The effective pollen donor number was estimated to be between 5 and 7 individuals, depending on the inbreeding coefficient of the adults. These mating results indicate relatively little inbreeding but low numbers of pollen donors. Mothers differed significantly in seed weight (range: ~ 4 - 10 g) and germination percentage (range: 0 – 90 percent), and a bivariate analysis showed a gradient across the study site. Such a pattern suggests that environment conditions influence acorn size and germination success. Future work will address whether isolated individuals are at risk of selfing, for the expression of inbreeding depression on seed traits, or a reduction in the effective pollen donor number. JF - Fifth Symposium on Oak Woodlands PB - USDA Forest Service VL - General Technical Report PSW-GTR-184 UR - http://danr.ucop.edu/ihrmp/proceed/symproc40.html ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Pollen movement in declining populations of California Valley oak, Quercus lobata: where have all the fathers gone? JF - Molecular Ecology Y1 - 2002 A1 - Sork, V. L. A1 - Davis, F. W. A1 - Smouse, P. E. A1 - Apsit, V. J. A1 - Dyer, R. J. A1 - Fernandez, J. F. A1 - Kuhn, B. KW - Heterogeneity. Landscape. Dispersal. Paternity. Buffers. Flow. KW - Starch-gel electrophoresis. 2-generation analysis. Conservation. AB - The fragmented populations and reduced population densities that result from human disturbance are issues of growing importance in evolutionary and conservation biology. A key issue is whether remnant individuals become reproductively isolated. California Valley oak (Quercus lobata ) is a widely distributed, endemic species in California, increasingly jeopardized by anthropogenic changes in biota and land use. We studied pollen movement in a savannah population of Valley oak at Sedgwick Reserve, Santa Barbara County, to estimate effective number of pollen donors (N (ep) ) and average distance of effective pollen movement (delta). Using twogener, our recently developed hybrid model of paternity and genetic structure treatments that analyses maternal and progeny multilocus genotypes, we found that current N (ep) = 3.68 individuals. Based on an average adult density of d = 1.19 stems/ha, we assumed a bivariate normal distribution to model current average pollen dispersal distance (delta) and estimated delta= 64.8 m. We then deployed our parameter estimates in spatially explicit models of the Sedgwick population to evaluate the extent to which N (ep) may have changed, as a consequence of progressive stand thinning between 1944 and 1999. Assuming that pollen dispersal distance has not changed, we estimate N (ep) was 4.57 individuals in 1944, when stand density was 1.48. Both estimates indicate fewer effective fathers than one might expect for wind-pollinated species and fewer than observed elsewhere. The results presented here provide a basis for further refinements on modelling pollen movement. If the trends continue, then ongoing demographic attrition could further reduce neighbourhood size in Valley oak resulting in increased risk of reproductive failure and genetic isolation. VL - 11 UR - http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/servlet/useragent?func=synergy&synergyAction=showAbstract&doi=10.1046/j.1365-294X.2002.01574.x ER -