Population Comparision, Population Comparision, Germination Rates, and Inbreeding Germination Rates, and Inbreeding Depression of Depression of Limnanthes floccosa Limnanthes floccosa

sspssp grandiflora grandiflora

Julia McGonigleDr. Robert Meinke, Dept. Botany & Plant

Pathology

Limnanthes floccosaLimnanthes floccosa ssp. ssp. grandifloragrandiflora

State of Oregon Status- Endangered - Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center List 1:

Taxa threatened with extinction or presumed extinct through its entire range

• Federal Status• - Federally

endangered without critical habitat

• - Listed by FWS on November 7, 2002 with a recovery priority of 3C.

• 60% cis-5-eicosenoic acid

• 8% cis-5-docosenoic acid

• 10% erucic acid

Photo source: © 2009 Barry Breckling http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000+0000+1109+2575

Limnanthes albaLimnanthes alba• Skin softners for the cosmetic industry

• Biodegradable lubricants

• Inks

• Detergents

• Plasticizers

• Derivatives that can be used as coatings, films, and adhesives

Seasonal wetlands

Annually alters between standing water and extreme drying

Presence of fairy shrimp and other specialized species

Vernal Vernal PoolsPools

Vernal Pool Fairy Vernal Pool Fairy ShrimpShrimp

Branchinecta lynchi Branchinecta lynchi

• Germination Study To determine the effect of 6 presoak

treatments on germination rates

• Population Comparison 4 populations were compared for

reproductive viability by measuring germination rates, flowers per plant and number of seeds per flower

• Inbreeding Depression Study Inbred seed was produced in an insect free

greenhouse and morphological differences in wild collected seed and greenhouse grown inbred seed were observed.

.2% Potassium nitrate

.2% Potassium nitrate and .05% GA

.05% GA

.25% GA

.5% GA

Water

Presoak Treatments for Presoak Treatments for Germination StudyGermination Study

Vleeshouwers, L. M., H. J. Bouwmeester and C. M. Karssen. “Redefining Seed Dormancy: An Attempt to Integrate Physiology and Ecology.” Journal of Ecology, Vol. 83, No. 6 (Dec., 1995), pp. 1031-1037. Published by: British Ecological Society

Mean Percent Germination Mean Percent Germination Rates for Presoak TreatmentsRates for Presoak Treatments

• Largest population of L. floccosa ssp. grandiflora in Oregon

• Non-native species least dense and numerous

• More native grasses surrounding the pools

• No immediate threats from development or recreational activities

• Owned and maintained by Jackson County

• Second largest population of L. floccosa ssp. grandiflora in Oregon

• Largest threat is non-native grasses, although currently native species still dominate the pools

• Owned and maintained by The Nature Conservancy

Invaded by non-native species

Buried gas pipeline created a series of artificial vernal pools

Owned and maintained by Jackson County

• Small population of L. floccosa ssp. grandiflora

• Vernal pools are heavily invaded by buckbrush, which is a native species

• Owned and maintained by The Nature Conservancy

Mean Percent Germination Rates for Mean Percent Germination Rates for Populations of Populations of L. floccosaL. floccosa ssp. ssp. grandifloragrandiflora

A

B

B

B

Mean # of Flowers Per Plant in Mean # of Flowers Per Plant in Each Population Each Population

A A

AB

B

Mean # of Seeds Per Flower in Mean # of Seeds Per Flower in Each Population Each Population

ABA

BB

Population ConclusionsPopulation Conclusions• Jackson County School

- Highest germination rate- Larger plants- More seeds/flower- These trends indicate healthiest population or possibility

of inbreeding depression in other populations

•Agate Desert Preserve- No difference in seeds/flower- No difference in plant size

• Savanna- Lowest germination rate- Larger plants, but with fewer seeds/flower

• Weigh Station- Low germination rate- Smaller plants with fewer seeds/flower

Inbreeding DepressionInbreeding Depression

Why important for Vernal Pool species?

• Small isolated islands aid in decreased gene flow among populations

• May reduce the overall genetic variability in population

• Many vernal pool species currently threatened or endangered due to habitat loss

• Makes the results of severe population reducing events (such as bottlenecks) more extreme

The loss of fitness and/or fecundity due to increased homozygosity

Germinate 200 wild collected seeds from Agate, School, and Weigh Station populations and 150 from Savanna population

Assess breeding system via manual outcrossing

Bag the plants to be inbred at budding stage to ensure self pollination

Collect f1 seed, germinate and grow to seed

Examine morphological differences in plants grown from f1 seed and plants grown from wild seed in each of the 4 populations

Inbreeding Depression StudyInbreeding Depression Study

Inbred Seed Weight vrs Inbred Seed Weight vrs Outcrossed Seed WeightOutcrossed Seed Weight

A

B

Number of Seeds Per FlowerNumber of Seeds Per Flower

A

A

• Oregon Department of Agriculture Native Plant Conservation Program– Dr. Robert Meinke– Dr. Stephen Meyers– Rebecca Currin– Kelly Amsberry

• Howard Hughes Medical Institute

• The Ernest and Pauline Jaworski Fund

AcknowledgemenAcknowledgementsts