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Are edge populations of ferns viable sources for founding new populations under global climate change?
April Kowalchuk-Reid, Daniel Schoen
Species are expected to migrate towards higher latitudes as temperatures rise due to climate warming. Populations found at the edges of species ranges may act as sources for range expansion and the establishment of new populations. These range-edge populations are often smaller and more isolated than core populations, which may contribute to these isolated populations experiencing elevated genetic load due to deleterious mutations becoming fixed or segregating load due to inbreeding depression. In both cases, these small populations may experience an overall decrease in fitness. Understanding the genetic characteristics of these edge populations is crucial for predicting their ability to respond to environmental changes and establish new populations. The proposed research aims to quantify the genetic load in edge populations with respect to their viability as a source of range expansion. The study will use the fern species Osmundastrum cinnamomeum (Cinnamon Fern) to analyze the success rate and viability of sporophyte progeny. By conducting systematic crosses at four levels of inbreeding using material collected from both core and edge ranges, the research will evaluate the success of progeny formation at the earliest stages in the free-living gametophyte. This can then assess the above-average presence of segregating load and quantify fixed load due to deleterious mutations in both edge and core populations. Ultimately, the knowledge gained can be used to inform best practices for the intervention and genetic rescue of edge populations should they exhibit poor genetic health, such as introducing beneficial genetic variation from other populations.
