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Genetic structure of the saxicole Pitcairnia geyskesii (Bromeliaceae) on inselbergs in French Guiana¹

²Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle—CNRS UMR 8571, Laboratoire d'Ecologie générale, 4 avenue du Petit Château, 91800 Brunoy, France; and ³Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle—CNRS FR 1541, Systématique Moléculaire, CNRS ESA 8044, Laboratoire de Biologie des Invertébrés Marins et Malacologie, 55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France

South American inselbergs constitute singular and fragmented habitats in the tropical rain forest. Pitcairnia geyskesii is restricted to these habitats and exhibits both sexual and asexual reproduction. The genetic structure of populations on three inselbergs in French Guiana is examined by analysis of ten isozyme loci. All analyzed populations show high levels of genetic variation. On average, 63.3% of loci per population were polymorphic, with a mean number of 2.21 alleles per polymorphic locus, and mean observed and expected heterozygosities of 0.185 and 0.183, respectively. The analyses of genetic variability displayed at different levels (inselbergs, subpopulations, and mats) give different but complementary information. A significant multilocus disequilibrium was detected in one subpopulation, whereas none was observed within the whole populations sampled on the three inselbergs. Tests on spatial genetic structure indicate a patchy distribution of genotypes on two inselbergs. The data give some insights on the reproductive behavior of P. geyskesii. (1) Efficient sexual reproduction leads to seed recruitment at the level of the inselberg. (2) Both clonality and seed recruitment occur within mats. (3) Vegetative spread by fragmentation is involved in the establishment of new mats. There is substantial differentiation (F_ST = 0.322) and low gene flow among inselbergs (Nm = 0.234). High genetic diversity within inselbergs appears as a consequence of the association of genet longevity induced by clonal replication and recruitment of new genets produced by sexual reproduction.

Key Words: Bromeliaceae • genetic diversity • genotypic disequilibrium • inselbergs • isozymes • sexual reproduction • South America; • spatial autocorrelation • vegetative spread

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