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(American Journal of Botany. 2007;94:1137-1145.)
© 2007 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Ecology

Hydrochory as a determinant of genetic distribution of seeds within Hibiscus moscheutos (Malvaceae) populations1

Ryouji Shimamura, Naoki Kachi, Hiroshi Kudoh5 and Dennis F. Whigham

Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Minami-osawa 1–1, Hachioji 192-0397, Japan; Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Nada-Ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan; Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, P.O. Box 28, Edgewater, Maryland 21037 USA

ABSTRACT

Seed dispersal is a major determinant of the spatial genetic structure of plant populations. In this study, we evaluated the role of distinct hydrologic regimes in determining the spatial genetic structure of the seed bank of the wetland plant Hibiscus moscheutos. We analyzed seeds in surface soil samples collected in the autumn and the following spring by determining their allozyme genotypes and estimated the pattern in seed movements during flooding. We selected study sites in nontidal and tidal wetlands with different flooding regimes. One nontidal site had no flooding, while the second nontidal site was inundated for most of the year. One tidal wetland site flooded with almost every tide, and a second tidal site was inundated at moderate frequency. Genetic makeup of the seed bank at the nonflooded site changed little between seasons. Secondary seed dispersal altered absolute allele frequencies at the other three sites, with the greatest change occurring at the two tidally influenced sites. This study demonstrates that secondary hydrochory influences the genetic composition of the seed bank and that hydrologic conditions play an important role in determining the local patterns in seed movements.

Key Words: flooding • genetic structure • Hibiscus moscheutos • hydrochory • Malvaceae • Maryland • secondary seed dispersal • seed bank






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