In extension of a previous project dedicated to study the genetic diversity of the so-called Tugai forests in the extremely arid Tarim basin of Chinas Xinjiang province, we want to investigate reproductive biology and the performance of sexes in Populus euphratica, as well as the gene flow between stands to explain the high degree of genetic diversity distributed within stands. This should allow deriving sound recommendations for a conservation strategy of the Tugai forests. In addition, we want to extent the existing body of data on mapped and genotyped old-growth stands to derive a sex aggregation index and show its usefulness for estimating stand clonality by comparison with the clonality index derived from microsatellite genotyping. Due to a change of methods for genotyping (from AFLP to a high-throughput microsatellite multiplex PCR) we saved money to genotype three more stands. This will provide consumables for one Ph.D. student (currently payed by a scholarship from the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) to complete her Ph.D. thesis.
Vier Fragestellungen stehen hierbei im Mittelpunkt: 1) Wie setzt sich die Vegetation im extrem trockenen Kernbereich der Atacama zusammen und welchen räumlichen und zeitlichen Schwankungen ist sie unterlegen? 2) Erfolgte die Besiedlung und Diversifizierung korreliert mit klimatischen und geologischen Ereignissen, welche als Ursache für die Aridität der Atacama zu sehen sind? 3) Sind diversifizierte Pflanzengruppen in der Atacama das Produkt einer einmaligen oder mehrmaligen Kolonisierung? 4) Spiegelt sich die Fragmentierung ausgewählter Arten in der Atacama in der genetischen Diversität wider oder wird diese positiv durch die Samenbank bzw. Ausbreitungsereignisse beeinflusst. Um diese Fragen zu beantworten, schlagen wir eine Kombination floristischer und molekularbiologischer Methoden vor: floristische Aufnahmen, ex-situ Kultivierung, molekulare Phylogenien ausgewählter und artenreicher Atacama Gruppen, sowie Populationsgenetik von Modelarten.
Global change exposes brown algal Fucus vesiculosus populations to increasing temperature and pCO2, which may threaten individuals, in particular the early life-stages. Genetic diversity of F. vesiculosus populations is low in the Baltic compared to Atlantic populations. This might jeopardise their potential for adaptation to environmental changes. Here, we report on the responses of early life-stage F. vesiculosus to warming and acidification in a near-natural scenario maintaining natural and seasonal variation (spring 2013–2014) of the Kiel Fjord in the Baltic Sea, Germany (54°27ʹN, 10°11ʹW). We assessed how stress sensitivity differed among sibling groups and how genetic diversity of germling populations affected their stress tolerance. Warming increased growth rates of Fucus germlings in spring and in early summer, but led to higher photoinhibition in spring and decreased their survival in late summer. Acidification increased germlings' growth in summer but otherwise showed much weaker effects than warming. During the colder seasons (autumn and winter), growth was slow while survival was high compared to spring and summer, all at ambient temperatures. A pronounced variation in stress response among genetically different sibling groups (full-sib families) suggests a genotypic basis for this variation and thus a potential for adaptation for F. vesiculosus populations to future conditions. Corroborating this, survival in response to warming in populations with higher diversity was better than the mean survival of single sibling groups. We conclude that impacts on early life-stages depend on the combination of stressors and season and that genetic variation is crucial for the tolerance to global change stress.
Phytoplankton populations can display high levels of genetic diversity that, when reflected by phenotypic variability, may stabilize a species response to environmental changes. We studied the effects of increased temperature and CO2 availability as predicted consequences of global change, on 16 genetically different isolates of the diatom Skeletonema marinoi from the Adriatic Sea and the Skagerrak (North Sea), and on eight strains of the PST (paralytic shellfish toxin)-producing dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii from the Baltic Sea. Maximum growth rates were estimated in batch cultures of acclimated isolates grown for five to 10 generations in a factorial design at 20 and 24 °C, and present day and next century applied atmospheric pCO2, respectively. In both species, individual strains were affected in different ways by increased temperature and pCO2. The strongest response variability, buffering overall effects, was detected among Adriatic S. marinoi strains. Skagerrak strains showed a more uniform response, particularly to increased temperature, with an overall positive effect on growth. Increased temperature also caused a general growth stimulation in A. ostenfeldii, despite notable variability in strain-specific response patterns. Our data revealed a significant relationship between strain-specific growth rates and the impact of pCO2 on growth-slow growing cultures were generally positively affected, while fast growing cultures showed no or negative responses to increased pCO2. Toxin composition of A. ostenfeldii was consistently altered by elevated temperature and increased CO2 supply in the tested strains, resulting in overall promotion of saxitoxin production by both treatments. Our findings suggest that phenotypic variability within populations plays an important role in the adaptation of phytoplankton to changing environments, potentially attenuating short-term effects and forming the basis for selection. In particular, A. ostenfeldii blooms may expand and increase in toxicity under increased water temperature and atmospheric pCO2 conditions, with potentially severe consequences for the coastal ecosystem.
Das Birkhuhn (Tetrao tetrix), einst typischer Bewohner von Moor- und Heidelandschaften, lebt in Deutschland außerhalb der Alpen nur noch in kleinen isolierten Vorkommen. Aufforstungen von Heideflächen und die Entwässerung und Kultivierung von Mooren reduzierten seinen Bestand. Heute steht das Birkhuhn als vom Aussterben bedrohte Art auf der Roten Liste der Brutvögel Deutschlands. Allein in Niedersachsen, wo außerhalb der Alpen noch der größte Birkhuhnbestand lebt, sank die Zahl der Tiere innerhalb der letzten 30 Jahre von rund 4.000 auf heute 200. Das Projekt untersucht die für den Artenschutz zentrale Frage, wie sich die voneinander isolierten Populationen in Deutschland an Veränderungen ihrer Lebensräume anpassen. Daraus sollen dann konkrete Empfehlungen für den Schutz des Birkhuhns abgeleitet werden.