Clonal reproduction is an important strategy for the establishment, expansion and persistence of many plant species. It is well-documented in Populus spp. Populus tremula (European Aspen) is a native species in Ireland, a pioneer which has persisted from the early Holocene to the present. Our main aim was to determine whether clonal and genetic diversity across Irish populations of P. tremula , are lower compared to population...

Health diets that contain immunostimulants and other functional ingredients can strengthen the immune response in Atlantic salmon, S almo salar , and thereby reduce sea lice, L epeophtheirus salmonis , infection levels. Such diets can be used to supplement other treatments and will potentially reduce the need for delousing and medication. A sea lice infection trial was conducted on fish with an average weight of 215 g. One con...

Habitat fragmentation represents the single most serious threat to the survival of tropical ecosystems. In formulating strategies to counteract the detrimental effects of fragmentation, knowledge of the levels and patterns of genetic diversity within and between natural populations is vital to the establishment of any conservation programme. We utilized polymorphic chloroplast microsatellite markers to analyse genetic diversit...

In Europe, the last 20 years have seen a spectacular increase in accidental introductions of marine species, but it has recently been suggested that both the actual number of invaders and their impacts have been seriously underestimated because of the prevalence of sibling species in marine habitats. The red alga Polysiphonia harveyi is regarded as an alien in the British Isles and Atlantic Europe, having appeared in various l...

Heart‐of‐palm ( Euterpe edulis Mart.) is a wild palm with a wide distribution throughout the Atlantic Rainforest. Populations of E. edulis represent important renewable natural resources but are currently under threat from predatory exploitation. Furthermore, because the species is indigenous to the Atlantic Rainforest, which is located in the most economically developed and populated region of Brazil, social and economic pres...

Due to their maternal mode of inheritance, mitochondrial markers can be regarded as almost ‘ideal’ tools in evolutionary studies of conifer populations. In the present study, polymorphism was analysed at one mitochondrial intron ( nad 1, exon B/C) in 23 native European Pinus sylvestris populations. In a preliminary screening for variation using a polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism approach, two...

In this study we report the development of primers to amplify polymorphic chloroplast simple sequence repeats in the genus Hordeum , which includes cultivated barley ( H. vulgare ssp. vulgare ) and its wild progenitor H. vulgare ssp. spontaneum . Polymorphic products were amplified in a wide range of Hordeum spp. and intraspecific variation was detected in both cultivated and wild barley. A decrease in cytoplasmic diversity wa...

Moringa oleifera is an important multipurpose tree introduced to Africa from India at the turn of this century. Despite limited knowledge of the levels of genetic diversity and relatedness of introduced populations, their utilization as a source of seed for planting is widespread. In order to facilitate reasoned scientific decisions on its management and conservation and prepare for a selective breeding programme, genetic anal...

Forest fragments along the Atlantic coastland of Brazil have been highly impacted by extensive human activities for the last 400 years. Caesalpinia echinata (Leguminosae– Caesalpinioideae), brazilwood, was overexploited during this period due to its economical importance as a dye. As a result, the species has become endangered and today its total population size is very restricted. We have assessed the distribution of genetic...