Genetic effects of woodland fragmentation:

a case study of Alder Buckthorn (Frangula alnus)

 

Alder Buckthorn (Frangula alnus)

Project code 

QU08-03

Contact

Dr. Neil Reid

Project staff

& Dr Caroline Bradley

Supervisor(s)

Dr Jim Provan

Client

NIEA

Funding

NHRP

Client Officer(s)

Mark Wright

Start date

01/08/2008

End date

30/06/2009

This Natural Heritage Research Partnership  (NHRP) project focuses on Alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus); one of Ireland ’s rarest native trees whose populations having been in severe decline for years. Only one extant population of substantial size remains in Northern Ireland at Peatlands Park, Co. Armagh.

 

DNA fingerprint
Frangula DNA fingerprint

Wet woodlands, which represent the main habitat for the species and which are the subject of a Habitat Action Plan, are under threat from land drainage for agricultural use and cutting of peat for fuel and this has further compromised the species. As a result of large-scale habitat loss, remnant populations of Alder Buckthorn are small and isolated from each other.

 

The genetic consequences of population isolation include a decrease in genetic diversity within populations through inbreeding and genetic drift, which can lead to a loss of adaptive potential, and an increase in population differentiation. Both of these factors can be ameliorated by gene flow and in Alder Buckthorn, which is an exclusively sexual species, pollination is via insects whilst seed dispersal – the only means of colonisation of new sites – occurs through a combination of avichory (i.e. bird-mediated dispersal) and hydrochory (i.e. water-mediated dispersal), although the relative importance of each of these processes is not fully understood. Consequently, the application of molecular techniques is crucial to understand both the levels and distribution of genetic diversity in these remnant populations as well as providing unique insights into mechanisms of dispersal.

 

1.       Determine the current distribution of Alder Buckthorn in Northern Ireland .

2.       Determine the levels and patterns of genetic diversity in Alder buckthorn in NI.

3.       Elucidate the relative roles of avichory and hydrochory in the establishment of Alder Buckthorn populations.

4.       Develop a rational and sustainable plan for the conservation of extant genetic diversity within the species.

 

Natural Heritage Research Partnership (NHRP) funded by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA)