A Pleistocene clone of Palmer's oak persisting in Southern California.
BACKGROUND: The distribution of Palmer's oak (Quercus palmeri Engelm.) includes numerous isolated populations that are presumably relicts of a formerly larger range that has contracted due to spreading aridity following the end of the Pleistocene. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated a recently...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2009-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2796394?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1798043449684918272 |
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| author | Michael R May Mitchell C Provance Andrew C Sanders Norman C Ellstrand Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra |
| author_facet | Michael R May Mitchell C Provance Andrew C Sanders Norman C Ellstrand Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra |
| author_sort | Michael R May |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BACKGROUND: The distribution of Palmer's oak (Quercus palmeri Engelm.) includes numerous isolated populations that are presumably relicts of a formerly larger range that has contracted due to spreading aridity following the end of the Pleistocene. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated a recently discovered disjunct population of Palmer's oak in the Jurupa Mountains of Riverside County, California. Patterns of allozyme polymorphism, morphological homogeneity, widespread fruit abortion, and evidence of fire resprouting all strongly support the hypothesis that the population is a single clone. The size of the clone and estimates of annual growth from multiple populations lead us to conclude that the clone is in excess of 13,000 years old. CONCLUSIONS: The ancient age of the clone implies it originated during the Pleistocene and is a relict of a vanished vegetation community. Range contraction after climate change best explains the modern disjunct distribution of Q. palmeri and perhaps other plants in California. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:49:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ac21d78fcb9e40e7ab2c3d007e8b4cd7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:49:14Z |
| publishDate | 2009-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-ac21d78fcb9e40e7ab2c3d007e8b4cd72022-12-22T03:58:39ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032009-01-01412e834610.1371/journal.pone.0008346A Pleistocene clone of Palmer's oak persisting in Southern California.Michael R MayMitchell C ProvanceAndrew C SandersNorman C EllstrandJeffrey Ross-IbarraBACKGROUND: The distribution of Palmer's oak (Quercus palmeri Engelm.) includes numerous isolated populations that are presumably relicts of a formerly larger range that has contracted due to spreading aridity following the end of the Pleistocene. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated a recently discovered disjunct population of Palmer's oak in the Jurupa Mountains of Riverside County, California. Patterns of allozyme polymorphism, morphological homogeneity, widespread fruit abortion, and evidence of fire resprouting all strongly support the hypothesis that the population is a single clone. The size of the clone and estimates of annual growth from multiple populations lead us to conclude that the clone is in excess of 13,000 years old. CONCLUSIONS: The ancient age of the clone implies it originated during the Pleistocene and is a relict of a vanished vegetation community. Range contraction after climate change best explains the modern disjunct distribution of Q. palmeri and perhaps other plants in California.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2796394?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Michael R May Mitchell C Provance Andrew C Sanders Norman C Ellstrand Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra A Pleistocene clone of Palmer's oak persisting in Southern California. PLoS ONE |
| title | A Pleistocene clone of Palmer's oak persisting in Southern California. |
| title_full | A Pleistocene clone of Palmer's oak persisting in Southern California. |
| title_fullStr | A Pleistocene clone of Palmer's oak persisting in Southern California. |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Pleistocene clone of Palmer's oak persisting in Southern California. |
| title_short | A Pleistocene clone of Palmer's oak persisting in Southern California. |
| title_sort | pleistocene clone of palmer s oak persisting in southern california |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2796394?pdf=render |
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