C3 Seminar: Demographic and genetic connectivity
Prof Gary A. Kendrick from the School of Plant Biology and Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia will be talking about Demographic and genetic connectivity: the role and consequences of reproduction, dispersal and recruitment in seagrasses.
School of Plant Biology and Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia.
Topic: Demographic and genetic connectivity: the role and consequences of reproduction, dispersal and recruitment in seagrasses
Clonality in plants releases them from a dependency on regular successful reproduction and recruitment. The seagrasses, a polyphyletic group of monocots that have re-invaded the sea, are strongly clonal, although they also invest in reproduction and in some species and environments reproduction is the major mechanism for their persistence. Demographic vital rates are heavily influenced by dispersal among populations and successful recruitment but these processes are poorly known resulting in conflicts in interpretation of seagrass resilience under anthropogenic change and the best ways to approach their management. In this seminar I will ask the question: can we combine both ecological and genetic approaches to understand the role of contemporary dispersal and recruitment in the recent evolution and contemporary connectivity in seagrasses? The major limitation to our present knowledge about connectivity among seagrass meadows are the distances seeds dispersal and their rate of recruitment into the adult population for most seagrasses. I will use some recent examples of new approaches that focus on hydrodynamic modeling and fine scale population connectivity utilizing population genetic methods offer a way forward. I also outline the knowledge gaps and lay out an approach to further understand the role of contemporary dispersal and recruitment in the persistence and evolution of seagrasses.
Light refreshments provided after talk - All are welcome!
