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Project

Conservation biology of fragmented wild orchid populations: integrating genetics and ecology in a spatial context.

At present, many of the research regarding the consequences of habitat fragmentation for plant species in general, and for orchids in particular, lacks an integrated, multidisciplinary approach which hampers the identification of the diverse, often antagonistic, processes and feed-back loops that affect the survival of small and isolated plant populations. Here, we propose to integrate demographic modelling, population genetics and pollination experiments for the in-depth study of the different mechanisms affecting the fitness of fragmented orchid populations. Our general objective is to determine viability and extinction risk of fragmented orchid populations by assessing their degree of pollen limitation, cost of fruiting, genetic structure, demographic rates and average plant fitness. Therefore, we will focus on two model species, one rewarding and one non rewarding (Orchis mascula and Gymnadenia conopsea), both occurring in the same highly fragmented calcareous grasslands in S-Belgium.
Date:1 Oct 2008 →  30 Apr 2011
Keywords:Orchid species, Conservation biology, Gene flow, Population genetics, Habitat fragmentation
Disciplines:Ecology, Environmental science and management, Other environmental sciences, Plant biology