Rare to be warm in Svalbard: An ecological and genetic snapshot of four red listed plant species
Climate change is emerging as the most far reaching and significant stressor on Arctic biodiversity and it is predicted that it will lead to large changes in distributions, geographical ranges and abundances of species. Many species might soon be at extinction risk, and subsequently will good manage...
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| Format: | Master Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10852/11686 http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-30959 |
| Summary: | Climate change is emerging as the most far reaching and significant stressor on Arctic biodiversity and it is predicted that it will lead to large changes in distributions, geographical ranges and abundances of species. Many species might soon be at extinction risk, and subsequently will good management of flora and fauna be of outermost importance. In high Arctic Svalbard, a third of the vascular flora is found in the regional red list, but management is difficult due to limited knowledge. For four of Svalbard’s most threatened vascular plant species, Botrychium lunaria, Sibbaldia procumbens, Kobresia simpliciuscula ssp. subholarctica and Ranunculus wilanderi will the following subjects therefore be investigated: 1) Localities, population sizes and possible threats to the populations 2) characteristics of the habitat and dispersal potential within localities 3) levels of genetic diversity and distinctness of the Svalbard populations and 4) implications for conservation in Svalbard. Evaluation of population sizes and immediate threats was carried out in the field and the data was reported to the Norwegian red list. For the habitat description, a selection of ecological parameters and vegetation data was recorded in 1-2 localities for each of the four focus species. Furthermore, in order to investigate possibilities for population expansion, ecological data was collected both from where the focus species was growing and from sites that the species do not yet occupy in its immediate surroundings. The suitability of this unoccupied habitat was then statistically tested and described through ordinations. Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) was used to determine levels of genetic diversity, gene flow and genetic distinctiveness of the Svalbard populations compared to selected populations from other parts of the species distribution area. A thorough mapping of occurrences and population sizes was achieved. New data led to a downgrading of S. procumbens and R. wilanderi from Critically Endangered to ... |
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