Data from: Patterns of pollen dispersal in a small population of the Canarian endemic palm (Phoenix canariensis)

The genetic diversity of small populations is greatly influenced by local
dispersal patterns and genetic connectivity among populations, with pollen
dispersal being the major component of gene flow in many plants species.
Patterns of pollen dispersal, mating system parameters and spatial genetic
structure were investigated in a small isolated population of the
emblematic palm Phoenix canariensis in Gran Canaria island (Canary
Islands). All adult palms present in the study population (n=182), as well
as 616 seeds collected from 22 female palms, were mapped and genotyped at
8 microsatellite loci. Mating system analysis revealed an average of 5.8
effective pollen donors (Nep) per female. There was strong variation in
correlated paternity rates across maternal progenies (ranging from null to
0.9) that could not be explained by the location and density of local
males around focal females. Paternity analysis revealed a mean effective
pollen dispersal distance of ~71 m, with ~70% of effective pollen
originating from a distance of <75 m, and 90% from <200 m. A
spatially explicit mating model indicated a leptokurtic pollen dispersal
kernel, significant pollen immigration (12%) from external palm groves and
a directional pollen dispersal pattern that seems consistent with local
altitudinal air movement. No evidence of inbreeding or genetic diversity
erosion was found, but spatial genetic structure was detected in the small
palm population. Overall, the results suggest substantial pollen dispersal
over the studied population, genetic connectivity among different palm
groves and some resilience to neutral genetic erosion and subsequently to
fragmentation.