Abstract Detail

Recent Topics Posters

Mead, Alayna [1], Knapp, John [2], Fitz-Gibbon, Sorel [3], Sork, Victoria [4].

Using genomics to understand genetic variation and gene flow among populations of a rare island endemic oak, Quercus tomentella.

Quercus tomentella, or island oak, is a rare oak endemic to six of the Channel Islands in California and Mexico. Like many island populations, its existence may be threatened by small population sizes and low genetic diversity. Previous work has shown that oaks on each island are genetically differentiated from each other, but the level of gene flow among islands has not been quantified and whether this genetic differentiation includes adaptive variation is unknown. We performed whole-genome sequencing on approximately 100 island oak individuals from across the six islands it inhabits to characterize the genetic variation across its range. The results from this study will be used to inform management of island oak. If individuals on different islands can be considered part of the same population, this could provide restoration efforts with more acorn sources. However, if the oaks on each island are genetically differentiated and locally adapted to island-specific conditions, this should be considered when choosing seed sources for restoration. It may be possible to introduce seedlings that are well-adapted to higher temperatures and increased drought into populations are currently experiencing stress from these conditions to protect them from future climate changes.

1 - University Of California, Los Angeles, Ecology And Evolutionary Biology, 4140 Terasaki Life Sciences Building, 610 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
2 - The Nature Conservancy, Ventura, CA, USA
3 - UCLA, Ecology and Ecolutionary Biology, 4140 Terasaki Life Sciences Building, 610 Charles E. Young Drive East , Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
4 - UCLA, ECOL & EVOL BIOL, Box 957239 , Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States

Keywords:
conservation
population genomics
Quercus
gene flow.

Presentation Type: Recent Topics Poster
Number: PRT019
Abstract ID:1328
Candidate for Awards:None