Population dynamics and genetic variation of plants with contrasting fire responses. We combine the traditional concerns of population viability analyses with the modern techniques of DNA fingerprinting for precise genotyping of individual plants and their seeds. We expect major breakthroughs in our understanding of how fire-killed species have survived thousands of years of frequent burning by Aborigines (by identifying seeds dispersed long distances from burnt parents); how paternity of offspr ....Population dynamics and genetic variation of plants with contrasting fire responses. We combine the traditional concerns of population viability analyses with the modern techniques of DNA fingerprinting for precise genotyping of individual plants and their seeds. We expect major breakthroughs in our understanding of how fire-killed species have survived thousands of years of frequent burning by Aborigines (by identifying seeds dispersed long distances from burnt parents); how paternity of offspring changes over the lifespan of plants which retain their seeds for many years; at what age within-plant genetic variation is at a maximum as a guide to optimal fire management; and the extent that deleterious somatic mutations explain low seed set among long-lived species.Read moreRead less
Quantifying long-distance seed dispersal and its role in the metapopulation dynamics of plants with contrasting life histories. This work will contribute to the assessment of best fire-management practices, enabling land managers to compare current fire practices against those required for conservation of genetic resources. Our quantification of Long distance seed dispersal (LDD) among species with different life history attributes will be a major theoretical contribution to the fields of popula ....Quantifying long-distance seed dispersal and its role in the metapopulation dynamics of plants with contrasting life histories. This work will contribute to the assessment of best fire-management practices, enabling land managers to compare current fire practices against those required for conservation of genetic resources. Our quantification of Long distance seed dispersal (LDD) among species with different life history attributes will be a major theoretical contribution to the fields of population ecology and population genetics. LDD is also imperative if species are to survive the major shifts in climate projected under modelled climate change scenarios - species without effective LDD may have a greater probability of extinction due to climate change. Assessing LDD enables quantification of this significant aspect of the threat of climate change to biodiversity.Read moreRead less