Megafauna seed dispersal in the neotropics: a meta-analysis shows no genetic signal of loss of long-distance seed dispersal
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2019-09
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Restricted gene flow may lead to the loss of genetic diversity and higher genetic
differentiation among populations, but the genetic consequences of megafauna
extinction for plant populations still remain to be assessed. We performed a phylogeneticindependent
meta-analysis across 102 Neotropical plants to test the hypothesis that plant
species with megafaunal seed dispersal syndrome have a lower genetic diversity and a
higher genetic differentiation than those without it. We classified as megafauna-dependent
plant species those that potentially relied only on megafauna to seed dispersal, and as
megafauna-independent those that relied on megafauna and other seed dispersers. Our
data comprised 98 studies using microsatellite markers. We found no statistical difference
in genetic diversity and differentiation between plants with megafauna and non-megafauna
seed dispersal syndrome, although the statistical power to detect differences in genetic
differentiation was low. Moreover, we found no statistical difference between megafaunadependent
and megafauna-independent plant species. We then used generalized linear
mixed models and phylogenetic generalized least square models to investigate the effects
of megafaunal seed dispersal syndromes and reproductive traits on variation in genetic
diversity and genetic differentiation. We found no effect of megafaunal syndrome, rather,
reproductive traits, such as pollination mode, mating, and breeding systems, showed
significant effects. Our findings show that the genetic studies of Neotropical plants
performed so far show no difference in genetic diversity and differentiation in plants
with megafaunal compared to those with non-megafaunal seed dispersal syndromes.
Our results also provide evidence pointing out that plant species with megafaunal seed
dispersal syndromes may have used different strategies to counterbalance the extinction
of their mutualistic megafauna dispersers, such as the dispersal by extant mammals that
may promote long-distance seed dispersal. Our results also reinforce the importance of
pollination to long-distance gene flow in Neotropical plants.
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Angiosperms, Phylogenetic signal, Genetic diversity, Phylogenetic meta-analysis, General linear mixed models, Meta-analysis, Neotropics, Phylogenetic generalized least square models
Citação
COLLEVATTI, Rosane G.; LIMA, Jacqueline S.; BALLESTEROS-MEJIA, Liliana. Megafauna seed dispersal in the neotropics: a meta-analysis shows no genetic signal of loss of long-distance seed dispersal. Frontiers in Genetics, Laussane, v. 10, p. 1-8, Sept. 2019. DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00788. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6739635/pdf/fgene-10-00788.pdf. Acesso em: 9 mar. 2023.