0000000000133340
AUTHOR
Outi Savolainen
Factors influencing the extent of inbreeding depression: an example from scots pine
Detailed studies suggest that the level of inbreeding depression may vary between populations. In a study of Scots pine from Finland, the level of inbreeding depression was much lower in northern than in southern populations. We have examined theoretically whether population genetic factors, such as the level of selfing, intensity of selection against heterozygotes or homozygotes, level of mutation, a bottleneck, finite population size, or the level of polyembryony could account for this difference. Higher selfing or stronger selection against heterozygotes in the north, both at biologically reasonable levels, appear to produce changes consistent with the observed differences and we conside…
Evolutionary genomics can improve prediction of species' responses to climate change
Abstract Global climate change (GCC) increasingly threatens biodiversity through the loss of species, and the transformation of entire ecosystems. Many species are challenged by the pace of GCC because they might not be able to respond fast enough to changing biotic and abiotic conditions. Species can respond either by shifting their range, or by persisting in their local habitat. If populations persist, they can tolerate climatic changes through phenotypic plasticity, or genetically adapt to changing conditions depending on their genetic variability and census population size to allow for de novo mutations. Otherwise, populations will experience demographic collapses and species may go ext…