Population genetic structure of neotropical mangrove species on the Colombian Pacific coast:: Avicennia germinans (Avicenniaceae)

We investigated the genetic variation of Avicennia germinans using 172 AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) bands of 45 plants from four localities on the Colombian Pacific coast: 11 from Virudo (Choco), 10 from La Plata (Valle), 12 from Tumaco (Narino), and 12 from Chontal (Narino). AFLP variation among localities (16.2%) was highly significant (AMOVA; P < 0.0001). All the analyses showed that Turnaco was the most genetically distinct locality of the four under study. The other three localities, La Plata, Virudo, and Chontal, apparently form a large single subpopulation with high-to-moderate gene flow among localities. We also found the genetic diversity of A. germinans on the Colombian Pacific coast (H-E = 0.251) higher than that estimated by others over the broad geographic range of A. germinans. All these results together show that mangroves on the Colombian Pacific coast deserve a strong investigative effort to improve our ecological, evolutionary, and biogeographic knowledge of this important tropical forest type.