The Influence of Natural Variation in Population Size on Ecological and Quantitative Genetics of the Endangered Endemic PlantHypericum cumulicola

Abstract

Premise of research. Genetic variation for ecologically important traits is necessary for populations to adapt to environmental change. Many authors have called for a greater emphasis on directly measuring quantitative genetic variation in rare species, which are expected to have reduced amounts of genetic variation due to genetic drift in small populations. The extent of among-population differentiation for quantitative traits may also help to evaluate the likelihood that genetic rescue/translocation will be a successful conservation strategy. Despite these merits, relatively few studies measure quantitative genetic variation for ecologically important traits as a function of population size.Methodology. Sixteen populations of the endangered plant Hypericum cumulicola were sampled, capitalizing on previous work that has estimated relative effective population sizes and demonstrated minimal migration between populations. This context allows more direct inference about the role of drift in small population...