Introduction - Genetic Diversity in Establishing Plant Populations: Founder Number and Geometry - page 7

a re-introduction methodology, sacrifi ce some unique alleles to avoid
inbreeding in a species especially sensitive to inbreeding depression?
What Is Needed?
Studies of the effects of the geometry of introduction on population
expansion and genetic diversity maintenance have neglected several
issues:
1. Population size is often held constant. What happens if populations
expand at different rates?
2. How many subpopulations should there be to optimize population
growth or genetic diversity retention?
3. How should the subpopulations be placed to effect an optimal rate of
subpopulation mixing (in terms of genetic diversity retention)? How
much subdivision for how long?
4. Do certain geometrical patterns of founders within subpopulations
yield higher rates of population growth and genetic diversity
retention?
5. Has the availability of establishment spaces over distance been
considered?
6. Gene diversity is often measured as heterozygosity. How are other
important measures of genetic diversity affected by spationumeric
founding conditions?
7. Is founder geometry equally important for founder assemblages with
low versus high initial genetic diversity?
8. How do differing amounts of selfi ng infl uence population genetic
diversity in the context of founder geometry?
9. How do differing embryo and/or microgamete dispersal distance
patterns affect diversity preservation under different founding
scenarios?
10. How do various other life history characteristics (e.g., age-specifi c
reproduction or mortality, bisexual versus dioecious) interact with all
of the above?
11. What are the evolutionary effects stemming solely from the initial
spacing and/or geometric patterning of the founders within
subpopulations? The following are some of the evolutionary topics for
which the initial founding pattern details and subsequent population
growth and genetic diversity history have relevance:
- peripheral populations and speciation,
- intraspecifi c genotypic and phenotypic evolution,
- origin of ecotypes,
- evolution of invading species and pathogen populations,