High levels of effective long-distance dispersal may blur ecotypic divergence in a rare terrestrial orchid

An Vanden Broeck and Gregor Božič and Branko Dolinar (2014) High levels of effective long-distance dispersal may blur ecotypic divergence in a rare terrestrial orchid. BMC Ecology (14). ISSN 1472-6785

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Abstract

Gene flow and adaptive divergence are key aspects of metapopulation dynamics and ecological speciation. Long-distance dispersal is hard to detect and few studies estimate dispersal in combination with adaptive divergence. The aim of this study was to investigate effective long-distance dispersal and adaptive divergence in the fen orchid (Liparis loeselii (L.) Rich.). We used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP)-based assignment tests to quantify effective long-distance dispersal at two different regions in Northwest Europe. In addition, genomic divergence between fen orchid populations occupying two distinguishable habitats, wet dune slacks and alkaline fens, was investigated by a genome scan approach at different spatial scales (continental, landscape and regional) and based on 451 AFLP loci.

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