Paternity analysis-based inference of pollen dispersal patterns, male fecundity variation, and influence of flowering tree density and general flowering magnitude in two dipterocarp species

†Background and Aims Knowledge of pollen dispersal patterns and variation of fecundity is essential to under-standing plant evolutionary processes and to formulating strategies to conserve forest genetic resources.Nevertheless, the pollen dispersal pattern of dipterocarp, main canopy tree species in palaeo-tropical forestremains unclear, and flowering intensity variation in the field suggests heterogeneity of fecundity.†Methods Pollen dispersal patterns and male fecundity variation of Shorea leprosula and Shorea parvifolia ssp.parvifolia on Peninsular Malaysian were investigated during two general flowering seasons (2001 and 2002),using a neighbourhood model modified by including terms accounting for variation in male fecundity amongindividual trees to express heterogeneity in flowering.†Key Results The pollen dispersal patterns of the two dipterocarp species were affected by differences in con-specific tree flowering density, and reductions in conspecific tree flowering density led to an increased selfingrate. Active pollen dispersal and a larger number of effective paternal parents were observed for both speciesin the season of greater magnitude of general flowering (2002).†Conclusions The magnitude of general flowering, male fecundity variation, and distance between pollen donorsand mother trees should be taken into account when attempting to predict the effects of management practices onthe self-fertilization and genetic structure of key tree species in tropical forest, and also the sustainability of poss-ible management strategies, especially selective logging regimes.Key words: Dipterocarp, general flowering, male fecundity variation, microsatellite marker, paternity analysis,pollen dispersal, Shorea, tropical forest.