Conservation of Acacia tortilis subsp. raddiana Populations in Southern Sinai, Egypt I- Genetic Diversity and Structure | ||||
Catrina: The International Journal of Environmental Sciences | ||||
Article 7, Volume 2, Issue 1, January 2007, Page 51-60 PDF (451.36 K) | ||||
Document Type: Original Article | ||||
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Authors | ||||
Mohamed Zaghloul 1; James Hamrick2; Abd El-Raouf Moustafa3 | ||||
1Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt | ||||
2Plant Biology Department, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA | ||||
3Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, 41522 Ismailia, Egypt | ||||
Abstract | ||||
Acacia tortilis (Fabaceae) provides food and shelter for desert animals and is a major source of livestock food and firewood for the native Bedouin people in Southern Sinai, Egypt. High mortality of established individuals and low juvenile recruitment has been reported in recent years. As a result, this once common tree has experienced local extinction and is now a species of conservation concern in the region. Sixteen allozyme loci were used to examine regional genetic diversity within and among twelve natural populations of A. tortilis selected to represent its geographic range in two large wadis in Southern Sinai, Egypt. The results showed that regional genetic diversity for A. tortilis (He = 0.213) is high compared not only to estimates for other tropical acacias but for plants generally. The majority (96%) of the genetic variation occurs within populations indicating that historically this species experienced high rates of gene flow over the geographic scale sampled. A UPGMA phenogram didn't match genetic distance among populations with their geographic relationships. High historical rates of gene flow and the recent fragmentation of once more continuous populations coupled with the longevity of these trees could explain the results obtained. | ||||
Keywords | ||||
Acacia tortilis; Sinai; conservation genetics; Genetic diversity | ||||
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