Inbreeding depression affects the growth of seedlings of an African timber species with a mixed mating reproductive system, Pericopsis elata (Harms) Meeuwen
[en] Selfing or mating between related individuals can lead to inbreeding depression (ID), which can influence the survival, growth and evolution of populations of tree species. As selective logging involves a decrease in the density of congeneric partners, it could lead to increasing biparental inbreeding or self-fertilization, exposing the population to higher ID. We assessed the influence of inbreeding on the growth of a commercial timber species, Pericopsis elata (Fabaceae), which produced about 54% of self-fertilized seedlings in a natural population of the Congo basin. We followed the survival and growth of 540 plants raised in a plantation along a gradient of plant density (0.07-15.9 plants per m 2). Parentage analysis allowed us distinguishing selfed and outcrossed seedlings. The annual growth was higher for outcrossed than selfed plants, on average by 10.8% for diameter and 12.9% for height growth. Based on the difference in above ground biomass between selfed and outcrossed seedlings after 41 months, we estimated the level of ID at δ = 0.33, while a lifetime estimate of ID based on the proportions of selfed plants at seedling and adult stages led to δ = 0.7. The level of ID on growth rate did not change significantly with age but tended to vanish under high competition. Pericopsis elata is a particularly interesting model because inbreeding depression is partial, with about 26% of reproducing adults resulting from selfing, contrary to most tropical tree species where selfed individuals usually die before reaching adulthood. Hence, the risks of ID must be considered in the management and conservation of the species.
Research Center/Unit :
TERRA Research Centre. Gestion des ressources forestières - ULiège
Disciplines :
Genetics & genetic processes
Author, co-author :
Assumani Angbonda, Dieu - Merci ✱; UNIKIS - Université de Kisangani > Faculté de Gestion des Ressources Naturelles Renouvelables > Laboratoire d’Ecologie et Aménagement Forestier (LECAFOR) ; ULB - Université Libre de Bruxelles [BE] > Faculté des Sciences > Evolutionary Biology and Ecology ; Institut National pour l’Etude et la Recherche Agronomiques de Yangambi (INERA – Yangambi)
Ilunga-Mulala Mushagalusa, Crispin ✱; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion des ressources forestières ; Université du Cinquantenaire de Lwiro > Faculté des Sciences
Bourland, Nils ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Forêts, Nature et Paysage > Laboratoire de Foresterie des régions tropicales et subtropicales
Beeckman, Hans; RMCA - Royal Museum for Central Africa [BE] > Service of Wood Biology
Boyemba, Faustin; UNIKIS - University of Kisangani > Faculté des Sciences > Laboratoire d’Ecologie et Aménagement Forestier (LECAFOR)
Hatakiwe, Hulda; CIFOR - Center for International Forestry Research [ID]
Ngongo, Jean Pierre; ULB - Université Libre de Bruxelles [BE] > Faculté des Sciences > Evolutionary Biology and Ecology ; UNIKIS - Université de Kisangani > Faculté des Sciences ; University of Kindu > Faculty of Agricultural Sciences > Department of Natural and Renewable Resources Management
Hardy, Olivier J.; ULB - Université Libre de Bruxelles [BE] > Faculté des Sciences > Evolutionary Biology and Ecology
✱ These authors have contributed equally to this work.
Language :
English
Title :
Inbreeding depression affects the growth of seedlings of an African timber species with a mixed mating reproductive system, Pericopsis elata (Harms) Meeuwen
Alternative titles :
[fr] La dépression de consanguinité affecte la croissance des plantules d'une espèce africaine à bois d'œuvre à système de reproduction mixte, Pericopsis elata (Harms) Meeuwen.
Original title :
[en] Inbreeding depression affects the growth of seedlings of an African timber species with a mixed mating reproductive system, Pericopsis elata (Harms) Meeuwen
We thank the Forests and Climate Change project in Congo “FCCC” as well as the Training, Research and Environment project in Tshopo “FORETS”) funded by the European Union and implemented at the University of Kisangani by CIFOR in collaboration with Resources and Synergies Development “R&SD”, through the award of a doctoral scholarship to Dieu Merci Assumani Angbonda which allowed him to work successfully in the Laboratory of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology “EBE”. Our feelings of gratitude also go to the entire team of the “LECAFOR” Ecology and Forest
Management Laboratory for collecting seeds, taking care of the nursery work, then planting in the research system. Crispin Ilunga-Mulala is supported by the XI European Development Fund (CRIS: 2020/419-588), through the UFA-Reforest project. Laboratory genotyping work was funded through F.R.S-FNRS grants WISD X.3040.17 and PDR T.0119.20. Finally, the authors thank three anonymous referees for their helpful comments; XI FED
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