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Genic diversity, genetic structure, and mating system of Brewer spruce (Pinaceae), a relict of the Arcto-Tertiary forest¹

Institute of Forest Genetics, Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, and Department of Plant Science, Mail Stop 6, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616 USA

ABSTRACT

Brewer spruce (Picea breweriana), a relict of the widespread Arcto-Tertiary forests, is now restricted to a highly fragmented range in the Klamath Region of California and Oregon. Expected heterozygosity for 26 isozyme loci, averaged over 10 populations, was 0.121. More notable than the relatively high level of diversity when compared to other woody endemics was the strong decrease in expected heterozygosity with latitude. Differentiation (F_ST) was 0.152, higher than values for many north temperate conifers with larger distributions. The number of migrants per generation (Nm) was 1.34 or 2.70, depending on the method of estimation. Inbreeding appeared low; F_IS was only 0.003, in agreement with multilocus population outcrossing rates (t_m), which were generally well above 0.90. No difference in t_m was found between isolated vs. clustered trees. However, the number of seeds per cone was greatest in the densest populations; t_m is a measure of effective outcrossing after mortality in the embryonic stage, whereas a reduced number of seeds per cone indicates self pollination. Selfing increased after logging; outcrossing rate before logging was 0.961 and after logging, 0.756. Despite Brewer spruce's narrow, fragmented distribution, the outlook for its conservation was good, with the exception of possible negative effects of logging.

Key Words: fragmentation • genetic structure • heterozygosity • isozymes • relict species • selfing