Responsible institutions: 

Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) and Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC)

Coordinators: 

Professors Maurício Sedrez dos Reis (UFSC) and Adelar Mantovani  (UDESC)

Goal:

To assess the genetic diversity of endangered species' populations, including species with social and economical importance.

Genetic diversity is the basis for species' development and adaptation to (a)biotic changes that may occur over time. Therefore, the study of genetic diversity may help to diagnose species' survivability over time. In this sense, one of the IFFSC's objectives was to evaluate the genetic diversity of populations of endangered species, as well as of those with economic and/or social relevance; 13 species were selected (see below).

In the Cycle 1 (2007 to 2011), populations of reproductive individuals (adult trees) were the main target. Subsequently, in the Cycle 2 the focus shifted to regenerative individuals (young trees), which were sampled at the same forest fragments in which the adults were sampled. This focus change enabled the understanding of genetic diversity dynamics over time, that is the amount of genetic diversity passed from generation to generation. In addition, potential relationships among landscape metrics and genetic diversity were investigated; the aim was to understand the influence of current land use on the genetic diversity indexes estimated for each species.

The methodology applied to collect and analyse the data was equal for both reproductive and regenerative individuals. Leaf samples were collected from 50 individuals in each one of the considered forest fragments; the individuals were at least 50 m distant from each other. In the laboratory, samples were analyzed through isoenzymatic markers. An isoenzymatic marker is nothing but a mark associated with the plant's DNA that permits to distinguish one individual from another.