Genetic structure and genetic diversity of <em>Swietenia macrophylla</em> in areas subjected to selective logging in Quintana Roo, Mexico

Abstract

The hypothesis that selective logging has a negative effect by altering the genetic parameters of tropical tree species was evaluated. The genetic diversity and genetic structure between adult trees (N = 47) and saplings (N = 50) of Swietenia macrophylla were contrasted within an area subjected to selective logging in the Mayan zone. Although differences in the number of alleles and in their frequencies were detected between both groups, the observed and expected heterozygosity and the coefficient of fixation were statistically similar. Evidence of higher genetic structure in the group of saplings was revealed by both, the autocorrelation and the factor correspondence analyses. The genetic differences observed in this study are compatible with those expected under scenarios of disruption in the local pattern of gene ow produced by selective logging. The implication of these results on the conservation genetics of Swietenia macrophylla in the Mayan zone is discussed.

Keywords

• Autocorrelation analysis
• Big-leaf mahogany
• Conservation genetics
• Moran's Index
• Tropical timber species