Mating Patterns of Black Oak Quercus velutina (Fagaceae) in a Missouri Oak-Hickory Forest.

Fernández-Manjarrés, Juan F.; Idol, Jacquelyn; Sork, Victoria L.

Wind-pollinated forest trees usually have high outcrossing rates, but allogamy does not necessarily translate into high pollen movement. The goal of this study was to determine the outcrossing rates, pollen pool genetic structure, and the size of the effective pollination neighborhood in a population of black oak, Quercus velutina, in a Missouri oak-hickory forest. Based on 6 allozyme loci, 12 maternal trees, and 439 progenies sampled along a transect of 1300 m, we found complete outcrossing (tm = 1.000, P FT = 0.078, P FT = 0.066 that corresponds to an effective number of pollen donors of 7.5 individuals. Assuming a bivariate normal distribution and an adult density of 16.25 trees ha-1, we estimated that the effective pollination neighborhood area had a radius of 41.9 m. Even assuming that our estimates may be conservative, these findings join a growing body of evidence that suggest that the local neighborhood of wind-pollinated forest tree populations may be relatively small creating opportunities for local selection and gerietic drift.

MISSOURI; POLLINATION; QUERCUS velutina; POLLEN; PLANT genetics; ISOENZYMES; PLANT breeding

Journal of Heredity, 2006, Vol 97, Issue 5, p451

0022-1503

Academic Journal

10.1093/jhered/esl022