Population genetic summary statistics and its relationship to
patch size
A contrasting pattern in genetic diversity metrics in small and large
patches was observed between the two species (Figures S6 & S7; Table
S4). Radula flaccida in small patches (1-ha and 10-ha), presented
a similar proportion of variant sites, polymorphic sites, and allelic
richness when compared to large patches (100-ha and continuous forest)
(p-value = >0.05. Table S6). Private alleles
(R2 = 0.20, p-value =
>0.05) and nucleotide diversity
(R2 = 0.15, p-value =
>0.05) decreased towards larger patches when the complete
dataset was considered. For Cololejeunea surinamensis ,
populations in small patches (1-ha and 10-ha) present lower genetic
diversity in all five calculated metrics than populations in large
patches (100-ha and continuous forests) (Table S6). This difference was
more evident and statistically significant for polymorphic sites
(R2 = 0.52 - 0.67, p-value =
<0.05) and nucleotide diversity (R2 =
0.50 - 0.58, p-value = 0.01) with both datasets (Table S6). The
observed genotype diversity (MLG) showed similar patterns. An overall
similar genotype diversity was observed between small and large patches
for R. flaccida populations (R2 = 0.08,p-value = >0.05). A lower genotype diversity in
small patches compared to populations in large patches of C.
surinamensis. This pattern was only significant with the reduced
dataset (R2 = 0.49, p-value =
<0.05).
The richness index used, Shannon-Weiner Diversity index (H), Stoddard
and Taylor’s Index (G), and Simpson’s index (lambda) suggest thatR. flaccida population genetic diversity did not differ between
small and large patches (p-value = >0.05; Figure
S7). Populations in 1-ha fragments show a slightly lower richness
compared to populations in 10-, 100-ha, and continuous forests when the
complete dataset was considered (Table S5). On the contrary, for the
species C. surinamensis, the three richness indexes were reduced
towards smaller patches when the reduced dataset was considered (Figure
S7). The Shannon-Weiner Diversity index (H) (R2= 0.43, p-value = <0.05) and Stoddard and Taylor’s
Index (G) (R2 = 0.49, p-value = 0.01)
were statistically significant, while the reduced diversity in small
patches observed with the Simpson’s index (lambda) was not significant
(R2 = 0.30, p-value =
>0.05) (Table S6).