Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

SS01 Submerged Aquatic Vegetation and the Water Column (Environmental Connections)

Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2001, Time: 4:30:00 PM

Location: Galisteo

Touchette, B, W, Dept of Botany, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA, brant_touchette@ncsu.edu

Alexander, J, , North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA,

Modeen, J, , North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA,

Glasgow, H, B, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA,

Burkholder, J, M, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA, joann_burkholder@ncsu.edu

RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA VARIATION AMONG AMERICAN WATER WILLOW (JUSTICIA AMERICANA L.) POPULATIONS IN A PIEDMONT RESERVOIR.

American water willow (Justicia americana L.) is a common dominant emergent macrophyte species in piedmont reservoirs of the southeastern U.S. We used aerial photography and ground-truthing to map the population distribution of this species in the Narrows Reservoir, North Carolina, and assessed genetic variability. This perennial, herbaceous plant formed dense stands in shallow waters (to depths > 0.5 m). It showed aggressive vegetative propagation, wherein plants produced a dense interlacing network of rhizomes that radiated from the stems in all directions. Unattached plant segments from existing beds also drifted to barren shorelines and established new populations. These populations also sexually reproduced, but only a small proportion of the populations produced flowers (10-20% of the shoots). RAPD markers were used to evaluate DNA variability among shoots both within isolated beds and among beds. The data indicate that despite relatively low sexual reproductive capacity, the water willow populations of this piedmont reservoir are genetically diverse.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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