Population Genetics of the Serpentine Endemic, Leather Oak (Quercus durata ssp. durata)
Chris McCarron, UC Berkeley
Richard Dodd (PI)
Angel Fernandez Marti (Post Doc)
Prahlada Papper (PhD)
The insular nature of serpentine habitats presents an ideal study system for examining evolution, population genetics and biogeography of species or species complexes restricted to them. The leather oak (Quercus durata var. durata) is one such species, as it is one of the few serpentine endemics that is widespread throughout California. This research used restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) on 188 samples from 26 separate outcrops, spanning a range of 26 counties throughout California. How such a species became widespread while being endemic to serpentine soils, what the geneflow among outcrops is now and, in the past, what the spatial patterns are for these trends, and how interconnected habitat has facilitated regional geneflow are all questions that are address by this research. This data has additional ties to and implications for research examining the white oak clade of California oaks along with Q. durata’s adaptations to serpentine soil.