Genetic neighbourhood sizes in primula vulgaris

Abstract

Neighbourhoods in natural populations of Primula vulgaris were found to be small, with neighbourhood sizes ranging from 1 to 38 plants and neighbourhood areas varying with the density of populations between 0-30 m2 and 18-61 m2. Seed dispersal was very limited, especially relative to that of pollen, but the amount of long-distance seed dispersal in Primula vulgaris is unknown. Flowering plant density was difficult to measure in those populations which had a clumped distribution and low density, and different density estimates considerably influenced calculations of neighbourhood sizes, though neighbourhood areas were unaffected. Outcrossing rates were close to the expected value of 1 for four polymorphic loci in a single population of Primula vulgaris. Neighbourhood sizes in Primula vulgaris are sufficiently small for random genetic drift to be important in determining the genetic structure of populations and to have played a major role in the evolution of the species. © The Genetical Society of Great Britain.