Conservation of Acacia tortilis subsp. raddiana Populations in Southern Sinai, Egypt I- Genetic Diversity and Structure

Zaghloul, Mohamed; Hamrick, James; Moustafa, Abd El-Raouf

Conservation of Acacia tortilis subsp. raddiana Populations in Southern Sinai, Egypt I- Genetic Diversity and Structure

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

² Plant Biology Department, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

³ Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, 41522 Ismailia, Egypt

Abstract

Acacia tortilis (Fabaceae) provides food and shelter for desert animals and is a major source of livestock
food and firewood for the native Bedouin people in Southern Sinai, Egypt. High mortality of established
individuals and low juvenile recruitment has been reported in recent years. As a result, this once common
tree has experienced local extinction and is now a species of conservation concern in the region. Sixteen
allozyme loci were used to examine regional genetic diversity within and among twelve natural
populations of A. tortilis selected to represent its geographic range in two large wadis in Southern Sinai,
Egypt. The results showed that regional genetic diversity for A. tortilis (He = 0.213) is high compared not
only to estimates for other tropical acacias but for plants generally. The majority (96%) of the genetic
variation occurs within populations indicating that historically this species experienced high rates of gene
flow over the geographic scale sampled. A UPGMA phenogram didn't match genetic distance among
populations with their geographic relationships. High historical rates of gene flow and the recent
fragmentation of once more continuous populations coupled with the longevity of these trees could
explain the results obtained.

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