Population genetic variation, structure, and evolution in Engelmann spruce, white spruce, and their natural hybrid complex in Alberta

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 768-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Om P Rajora ◽  
Bruce P Dancik
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Natural Hybridization ◽  
Putative Hybrid ◽  
Species Differentiation ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
Hybrid Complex ◽  
Allozyme Loci ◽  
Putative Hybrids

Genetic variation, structure, and evolution of 12 populations of putative Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmanii Parry), white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), and Engelmann - white spruce natural hybrids from the sympatric areas and two populations of white spruce from the allopatric areas in Alberta were examined using 23 allozyme loci coding for 13 enzymes in needles. Although most of the alleles were widespread, unique alleles were found in 9 of the 14 populations. No species-specific allele was observed. However, allele frequency differences were observed between the putative Engelmann and white spruce populations at a number of loci. Frequencies of 13 alleles showed significant correlation with altitude, those of 11 alleles showed correlation with latitude, and those of 3 alleles showed correlation with longitude. On average, 66.2% (99% criterion) of the loci were polymorphic, the number of alleles per locus was 1.88, the number of alleles per polymorphic locus was 2.88, and the observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.063 and 0.184, respectively. Genetic variability of allopatric white spruce, putative Engelmann, sympatric white spruce, and hybrid populations was quite comparable. The mean FST estimate was 0.123 for the total populations. Canonical discriminant functions separated four putative Engelmann spruce populations from the fifth putative Engelmann spruce population and from the allopatric and sympatric white spruce and sympatric putative hybrid populations. A cluster analysis from genetic distances generally separated allopatric and sympatric white spruce populations from the putative Engelmann spruce and hybrid populations. A Wagner tree of the 14 populations produced two main branches; one branch consisting of two allopatric and two sympatric white spruce and one putative hybrid populations, and another branch consisting of the remaining nine spruce populations representing putative Engelmann spruce, putative hybrids, and sympatric white spruce. Putative hybrids showed lower distances to white spruce from the canonical discriminant analysis, whereas they showed lower distances to putative Engelmann spruce from the genetic distance analysis. High allozyme genetic identities between putative Engelmann and white spruce and allelic differentiation related to altitude in Alberta suggest that Engelmann spruce could at best be considered as a subspecies of Picea glauca, with white spruce named as Picea glauca ssp. glauca and Engelmann spruce named as Picea glauca ssp. engelmannii.Key words: Picea glauca, Picea engelmannii, biosystematics, natural hybridization, species differentiation, genetic divergence.

Taxonomy and origin of present-day morphometric variation in Picea glauca (×engelmannii) seed-cone scales in North America

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (7) ◽  
pp. 1129-1141 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.L Strong ◽  
L.V. Hills
Keyword(s):  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Black Hills ◽  
Picea Engelmannii ◽  
Morphometric Variation ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
Seed Cone ◽  
Northern United States ◽  
Cone Scale

White spruce ( Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) and Engelmann spruce ( Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.) seed-cones from 676 sites in Canada and the northern United States were analyzed to determine the degree and spatial extent of interspecific hybridization. Fifteen cone-scale variables were analyzed, with percent free-scale and scale shape considered best for differentiating these taxa. The results show that putative Engelmann spruce and their hybrids occur mostly in the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains. Putative white spruce occurs across Canada east of the Rocky Mountains, whereas white × Engelmann hybrids occur eastward to Manitoba and northward to 68° latitude in northwest Canada. To explain the occurrence of the latter taxon hundreds of kilometres from an Engelmann spruce pollen source, it is hypothesized that palaeohybridization occurred during the Wisconsinan glacial period, probably in the southern Montana – Wyoming – Black Hills (South Dakota) region, with the resulting hybrids spreading north and northeastward into interior Canada following the retreat of the Laurentide glacier. White and Engelmann spruce have morphologically distinct cone-scales, whereas their hybrids have intermediate characteristics. An emended species ( Picea albertiana ) and two subspecies (P. albertiana subsp. albertiana and P. albertiana subsp. ogilviei) are proposed to account for morphological intermediates between the parent species.

B Chromosomes in White Spruce

1977 ◽  
Vol 198 (1133) ◽  
pp. 325-344 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Constitutive Heterochromatin ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
B Chromosomes ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
The Other ◽  
Differential Mortality ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Engelmann Spruce

In Picea glauca , the White Spruce, supernumerary, B chromosomes were found in 48 out of 51 North American populations investigated. The B chromosomes are of two kinds. The more common (B1) is metacentric. The other (B2) has a subterminal centromere. Giemsa staining at metaphase shows no trace of constitutive heterochromatin in B chromosomes, yet at interphase the B chromosomes are heteropycnotic. It is argued that the capacity for heterochromatization of the B chromosomes at interphase may be associated with gene inactivation as in the X chromosomes of female mammals. B2 is found in western regions only, i. e. west of the 95th meridian. B1 is found in both western and eastern regions but its frequency varies substantially among populations. In general there is a reduction in B frequency from east to west in both western and eastern regions of North America. Experimental results support the view that such variation is adaptive and, in part at least, caused by the differential mortality of plants with and without B chromosomes in particular environments. Evidence is presented which indicates that B2 was introduced into White Spruce following hybridization with Engelmann Spruce.

scholarly journals Genetic Variation and Its Exploitation in White and Engelmann Spruce

1969 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 445-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Roche ◽  
M. J. Holst ◽  
A. H. Teich
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Seed Production ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Climatic Zones ◽  
Waiting Period ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
Seed Zones ◽  
Increase Productivity ◽  
Production Areas ◽  
Forestry Practice

Genetic variation in white and Engelmann spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss and P. engelmannii Parry) reported in the literature is reviewed, and proposals are made to use this information to increase productivity in current forestry practice and to direct future research.Because research in the genetic variation of these species has only recently been initiated, it will take decades before the products of breeding can be utilized. The best way to exploit genetic variation in the species during the long waiting period between the initiation of a breeding program and the attainment of its objectives is to (1) demarcate seed zones, (2) establish seed production areas, (3) maintain a seed register and, (4) locate nurseries in appropriate climatic zones (match provenance with nursery). The forester who follows these practices will likely succeed in producing a productive man-made forest.

scholarly journals Genetic Variation in Picea glauca for Growth and Phenological Traits From Provenance Tests in Ontario

2004 ◽  
Vol 53 (1-6) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Lesser ◽  
W. H. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Adaptive Variation ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Intraclass Correlation Coefficients

Abstract Ecologically based management of white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss.) requires an understanding of its patterns of adaptive variation. This understanding will become increasingly important under changing climate conditions. Five common garden tests and a greenhouse trial established in 2002 across Ontario were used to assess levels of genetic variation and relate this variation to local climate. Growth and phenological variables, including height, root collar diameter, survival, timing of spring budflush, and timing of fall budset were measured. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated for all traits to determine levels of genetic variation. Simple linear regressions were used to relate these differences to local climate conditions. After two growing season’s levels of between-provenance genetic variation ranged from 0 percent for several of the budflush variables to 22 percent for 2003 survival at the Englehart field trial. Overall, growth variables showed higher levels of between-provenance variation than phenological variables. Variation was predominately explained by longitude, a surrogate for precipitation patterns in Ontario, and temperature variables related to the growing season with r2 values ranging from 0.03 to 0.55. Generally, patterns of adaptive variation followed a southeast to northwest trend across Ontario. Northern sources flushed earlier and set bud earlier, while southern sources demonstrated superior growth. Results support previous white spruce genecology studies showing superior growth of sources from the Ottawa valley region of Ontario and Quebec.

Morphological variation in white and black spruce: investigation of natural hybridization between Picea glauca and P. mariana

1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (20) ◽  
pp. 2512-2520 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Parker ◽  
David G. McLachlan
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Morphological Analysis ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
A Priori ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Bimodal Distribution ◽  
Natural Hybridization ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Qualitative Characters ◽  
Two Hybrid

To investigate the possibility that white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) and black spruce (P. mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) produce natural hybrids, a morphological analysis of cone and twig characters was performed on 41 white and black spruce trees from three sites in northwestern Ontario and on the Rosendahl spruce from Cromwell, Minnesota. For each tree 13 quantitative and 10 qualitative characters were determined, and the diagnostic ability of all characters was tested by frequency histograms. Scatter diagrams and two hybrid indices were constructed; one index was based only on quantitative data left in continuous form, while the second index was based on all diagnostic characters. Scatter diagrams consistently separated the two taxa, and both hybrid indices clearly showed a bimodal distribution of trees coinciding with species boundaries and not correlating with site or environmental factors. Some spruce trees were intermediate in certain respects, but no tree exhibited a pattern of consistent intermediacy. These results strongly suggest that(1) no hybrids or introgressed spruces were sampled from northwestern Ontario and (2) the Rosendahl spruce is not an F1 hybrid between white and black spruce, contrary to several reports, but rather is a white spruce. Earlier conclusions that white and black spruce successfully hybridize in nature apparently have resulted from the use of nondiagnostic characters, underestimation of the variation present in both species, and a priori weighting inherent in the methods used to calculate conventional hybrid indices.

Tree recruitment from burn edges

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 1264-1274 ◽  
Author(s):  
D F Greene ◽  
E A Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Picea Engelmannii ◽  
Larix Laricina ◽  
Tree Recruitment ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
Large Fires

We developed and tested a wind-dispersal model of tree recruitment into burns from living sources at the fire edge or from small unburned residual stands. The model was also tested on recruitment of serotinous Pinus banksiana Lamb. within a burn. The model assumed that source strength is proportional to basal area density and that an individual (point source) recruitment curve can be expressed as a lognormal distribution. The model made significant predictions of the recruitment curves of Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.), white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) to distances as great as 2.0 km, although it tended to underpredict Abies and overpredict Picea. The model gave significant prediction of recruitment for jack pine (Pinus banksiana) within burns with seeds derived from aerial seed banks, and of white spruce and tamarck (Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch) up to 100 m from residual stands. By forestry standards, burns are poorly stocked by those species that must obligately recruit from edges. In large fires, adequate stocking by a species such as white spruce that had 5 m2/ha of basal area would be limited to about 70 m from the edge. Small residual stands are expected to supply about half of all the recruits of white spruce or fir at distances exceeding about 800 m from a nominal burn edge.

Segregation at enzyme loci in megagametophytes of white spruce, Picea glauca

1986 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Craig Stewart ◽  
Daniel J. Schoen
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Seed Orchard ◽  
Mendelian Inheritance ◽  
Mating Pattern ◽  
Enzyme Locus ◽  
Clonal Seed Orchard ◽  
Enzyme Loci ◽  
Made In

Segregation patterns of six enzyme loci expressed in megagametophytes of white spruce (Picea glauca) were studied as part of an investigation of the mating pattern in a clonal seed orchard. More than 3000 megagametophytes from 79 trees representing 18 clones were assayed. The single locus patterns of segregation for each enzyme locus are consistent with simple Mendelian inheritance. The two locus patterns of segregation reveal that Idh and Gdh are tightly linked with an estimated recombination rate of 0.027 ± 0.004. No other pair of loci deviates significantly from the ratios expected for unlinked loci. Little heterogeneity in the pattern of gametic segregation was detected among ramets within clones or among clones for any of the loci. The results contribute to knowledge of genetic variation in this species and provide a basis for assumptions about segregation made in mating system estimation models.Key words: segregation, linkage, allozymes, Picea glauca, white spruce.

SPRUCE CONE INSECTS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND THEIR CONTROL

1973 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. Hedlin
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Gall Midge ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Systemic Insecticides ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
Cone Axis ◽  
Considerable Loss

AbstractInsects cause considerable loss of seed in white spruce, Picea glauca (Moench) Voss, and Engelmann spruce, P. engelmannii Parry, in British Columbia. The most important species are a maggot, Hylemya anthracina (Cz.), and a seed moth, Laspeyresia youngana (Kit.). Other insects are: a seed chalcid, Megastigmus piceae Roh., a cone axis midge, Dasineura rachiphaga Tripp, a gall midge, D. canadensis Felt, a seed midge, Mayetiola carpophaga Tripp, and a scale-feeding midge. These insects also occur in cones of Sitka spruce, P. sitchensis (Bong.) Carr., and black spruce, P. mariana (Mill.) BSP.The systemic insecticides dimethoate and formothion proved to be effective against these insects when applied as sprays following pollination in mid-June.

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