title: Quantitative analyses of the genetic structure of closely related conifers with disparate distributions and demographics: the Cupressus arizonica (Cupressaceae) complex.
abstract: Seedling populations of seven Cupressus taxa were compared in common gardens to assess relationships among taxa and to elucidate the genetic structure of three taxa with different distributions and demographics. Discriminant analyses of 15 quantitative traits separated C. sargentii and C. forbesii from taxa within the C. arizonica complex (C. arizonica, C. glabra, C. stephensonii, C. nevadensis, and C. montana); aligned a population of C. arizonica from Sierra de Arteaga, Mexico, with families of the same taxon from southwestern United States; and described a close relationship between C. nevadensis and C. glabra. but nevertheless separated taxa within the C. arizonica complex. Analyses of wind-pollinated progenies of single trees showed the narrow endemic, C. glabra, to have a greater degree of population differentiation than the more broadly dispersed C. arizonica. In addition, genetic variances within the numerically small populations of C. arizonica were about the same as in the much larger populations of C. glabra. The results also suggested that genetic variability in C. stephensonii, a taxon occurring in a single population, may occur primarily among inbred lines. While the genetic structures of C. arizonica and C. glabra have counterparts among broadly dispersed conifers, that of C. stephensonii appears to be unique. Together, the results support the view that genetic structure primarily reflects the uncertain, chance events that are interspersed throughout evolutionary history.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rehfeldt