Remnant sugar maple (Acer saccharum subsp. skutchii) populations at their range edge: Characteristics, environmental constraints and conservation implications in tropical America

Vargas-Rodriguez, Yalma L.; Platt, William

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2012.03.006

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…This result is common in this type of work due to an insufficient sampling, the presence of geographic barriers, stochastic processes, or biotic interactions, which affect the species potential prediction and generally increases the area with respect to actual distribution [33,45]. Discontinuous distributions of O. mexicana have also been described for other relict species in cloud forests [46][47][48]. These similarities have resulted because of natural events in the past (e.g., climatic and geomorphological), which led to the reduction in size, and fragmentation of the cloud forest of Mexico during the Tertiary Period [6].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Environmental Changes on the Occurrence of Oreomunnea mexicana (Juglandaceae) in a Biodiversity Hotspot Cloud Forest

Alfonso-Corrado

Naranjo-Luna²,

Clark‐Tapia

et al. 2017

Forests

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Abstract:The tropical montane cloud forests are recognized as one of the most biodiverse ecosystems. In spite of this, they are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. This study integrates three ecological approaches generally studied separately: climate change scenery, ecological niche and population dynamics of Oreomunnea mexicana (an endangered and relict species), to understand how environmental change affects the population structure in the cloud forest that will allow its conservation. Potential distribution under future climatic scenarios of the species at national and regional levels was generated from the Maxent algorithm. Also, the current abundance, distribution and the ecological niche of the species were analyzed at the regional level. Changes in potential distribution under two climatic models suggest a habitat reduction from 36% to 55% nationally, and 2% to 9% at a regional level, for 2050 and 2070, respectively. The current distribution of the species is fragmented and consists of subpopulations that have spatial structures of aggregated populations and a size structure in reversed "J" form. The ecological niche of the species is highly specialized and sensitive to environmental changes. O. mexicana is a flagship species of biological and cultural importance to the region's inhabitants and could be fundamental to the conservation of tropical montane cloud forests.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Environmental Changes on the Occurrence of Oreomunnea mexicana (Juglandaceae) in a Biodiversity Hotspot Cloud Forest

Alfonso-Corrado

Naranjo-Luna²,

Clark‐Tapia

et al. 2017

Forests

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“…Anthrogenic disturbances were the most important influence on local population extinctions of remnant sugar maple (Acer saccharum subsp. skutchii) populations, overriding other variables (Vargas-Rodriguez and Platt, 2012). Considerable habitat loss resulting from agricultural development has contributed to reduced numbers of Dictamnus albus (Hensen and Wesche, 2006); suitable habitat for the species has become rare and surrounded by agricultural fields leading to the loss of between 15% and 20% of populations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Modern land use techniques including increased agricultural land use have been shown to pose threats to sensitive plants. Anthropogenic influences can be major contributors to loss of diversity, habitat, and populations of rare plants (Brockerhoff et al, 2008;Ceballos et al, 2010;Vargas-Rodriguez and Platt, 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

Integrating Field and GIS-based Surveys to Map the Distribution and Characterize the Ecological Habitat for Conservation Management of Georgia Plume, a Rare Endemic

Porter

Berle

Wetzstein

2013

horts

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Accurate mapping, inventory assessment, and habitat descriptions are critically important for the development of plant conservation strategies of rare plants. Georgia plume, Elliottia racemosa (Ericaceae), is a rare threatened plant endemic only to the state of Georgia. In this study, census and distribution data were collected and the ecological habitat characterized for all known populations of georgia plume using geographic information system/global positioning system (GIS/GPS)-based methods. Causes for population losses and decline were assessed by evaluating both extant populations and historically reported but currently inactive sites. Landowner permission was obtained to visit 56% (32 of 57) of all known recorded populations. Over 40% of visited locations no longer contained georgia plume; 58% of inactive sites were associated with anthropogenic disturbances including farming and timber. Populations not visited by ground were evaluated using aerial photographs: of 29 putative populations, 66% were judged highly unlikely to contain georgia plume based on current land use. Census data verified that many populations have few individuals: 75% contained less than 45 individuals; over one-third contained 12 or fewer individuals. Over 80% of extant populations had an area of less than 0.3 ha. Field and aerial assessments of recent and historically noted populations confirm that georgia plume has disappeared from many previously reported locations and that fewer than two dozen populations may remain.

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“…Sampling in Mexico and Guatemala included all known populations where A. saccharum subsp. skutchii has been recorded [ 19 ]. These sugar maples belong to the series Saccharodendron (Rafinesque) Murray, section Acer , characterized by apetalous flowers and connate calyces.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Study of the genetics of this species has the potential to elucidate a late Pliocene and Quaternary history that may be shared by other elements of the North America flora. The species has a continuous distribution from southern Quebec to the southeastern USA, and then is disjunct in distribution between the eastern USA, Mexico, and Guatemala [ 19 ]. Fossil pollen data suggest that A. saccharum underwent northward geographic expansions from a single continuous ice-free refugium in the Southern USA about 21,000 years B.P., around the beginning of the retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet [ 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large scale patterns of genetic variation and differentiation in sugar maple from tropical Central America to temperate North America

et al. 2015

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BackgroundGeological events in the latter Cenozoic have influenced the distribution, abundance and genetic structure of tree populations in temperate and tropical North America. The biogeographical history of temperate vegetation that spans large ranges of latitude is complex, involving multiple latitudinal shifts that might have occurred via different migration routes. We determined the regional structuring of genetic variation of sugar maple (Acer saccharum subsp. saccharum) and its only subspecies in tropical America (Acer saccharum subsp. skutchii) using nuclear and chloroplast data. The studied populations span a geographic range from Maine, USA (46°N), to El Progreso, Guatemala (15°N). We examined genetic subdivisions, explored the locations of ancestral haplotypes, analyzed genetic data to explore the presence of a single or multiple glacial refugia, and tested whether genetic lineages are temporally consistent with a Pleistocene or older divergence.ResultsNuclear and chloroplast data indicated that populations in midwestern USA and western Mexico were highly differentiated from populations in the rest of the sites. The time of the most recent common ancestor of the western Mexico haplotype lineage was dated to the Pliocene (5.9 Ma, 95 % HPD: 4.3–7.3 Ma). Splits during the Pleistocene separated the rest of the phylogroups. The most frequent and widespread haplotype occurred in half of the sites (Guatemala, eastern Mexico, southeastern USA, and Ohio). Our data also suggested that multiple Pleistocene refugia (tropics-southeastern USA, midwestern, and northeastern USA), but not western Mexico (Jalisco), contributed to post-glacial northward expansion of ranges. Current southern Mexican and Guatemalan populations have reduced population sizes, genetic bottlenecks and tend toward homozygosity, as indicated using nuclear and chloroplast markers.ConclusionsThe divergence of western Mexican populations from the rest of the sugar maples likely resulted from orographic and volcanic barriers to gene flow. Past connectivity among populations in the southeastern USA and eastern Mexico and Guatemala possible occurred through gene flow during the Pleistocene. The time to the most common ancestor values revealed that populations from the Midwest and Northeast USA represented different haplotype lineages, indicating major divergence of haplotypes lineages before the Last Glacial Maximum and suggesting the existence of multiple glacial refugia.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0518-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Remnant sugar maple (Acer saccharum subsp. skutchii) populations at their range edge: Characteristics, environmental constraints and conservation implications in tropical America

Cited by 9 publications

References 59 publications

Effects of Environmental Changes on the Occurrence of Oreomunnea mexicana (Juglandaceae) in a Biodiversity Hotspot Cloud Forest

Effects of Environmental Changes on the Occurrence of Oreomunnea mexicana (Juglandaceae) in a Biodiversity Hotspot Cloud Forest

Integrating Field and GIS-based Surveys to Map the Distribution and Characterize the Ecological Habitat for Conservation Management of Georgia Plume, a Rare Endemic

Large scale patterns of genetic variation and differentiation in sugar maple from tropical Central America to temperate North America

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