Seed Spillage from Grain Trailers on Road Verges during Oilseed Rape Harvest: An Experimental Survey

Context: Anthropogenic vectors enhance the natural dispersal capacity of plant seeds significantly in terms of quantity and distance. Human-mediated seed dispersal (i.e. anthropochory) greatly increases the dispersal of crop species across agroecosystems. In the case of oilseed rape (OSR), spillage of seeds from grain trailers during harvest has never been quantified. Methods: Our experimental approach involved establishing 85 seed trap-sites on the road verges of an agricultural area around the grain silo of Selommes (Loir-et-Cher, France). We recorded OSR spillage during harvest and applied a linear model to the data. Results: The amount of seed spilled was related positively to the area of the OSR fields served by the road, whereas the amount of seed spilled decreased with other variables, such as distance from the trap-site to the verge of the road and to the nearest field. The distance to the grain silo, through local and regional effects, affected seed loss. Local effects from fields adjacent to the road resulted in a cumulative spillage on one-lane roads. On two-lane roads, spillage was nearly constant whatever the distance to the silo due to a mixture of these local effects and of grain trailers that joined the road from more distant fields. From the data, we predicted the number of seeds lost from grain trailers on one road verge in the study area. We predicted a total spillage of 2.05610 6 seeds (64.76610 5) along the road length, which represented

Dispersion des graines de colza (Brassica napus L.) et origines des populations férales dans un agroécosystème

Agroecosystems are mosaics of cultivated areas where natural and semi-natural areas and human infrastructures are strongly nested and intrinsically linked and dependent. Semi-natural areas are generally confined to field edges and roadsides where wild and cultivated plants biodiversity are combined. This thesis focuses mainly on seed dispersal of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) towards semi-natural areas which can lead to establishment of feral oilseed rape populations. At the agroecosystem scale, the study of genotypic data coupled with assignment methods to existing commercial cultivars has highlighted the link between diversity of cultivars of oilseed rape cultivated fields with diversity of cultivar of feral populations the following year. Furthermore, the study of cultivar diversity revealed that fields are not uniformly composed of plants of a unique cultivar and that feral populations accumulate different cultivars over years consecutive of annual seeds rain of harvested fields, survival in the seed bank and self-recruitment in feral populations. Modeling the effective seed flow with maximum likelihood method revealed local dispersal dynamics within the agroecosystem. Local and extern sources of seeds differ according the area studied and the traffic roads to the silo. Our data have shown that both sowing of the same year (n), the fields harvested the previous year or even in previous years (up to n-2) could significantly contribute to the presence of feral populations (year n). The average dispersal distances estimated range from ten meters to kilometers. Finally, an in-situ experiment enabled us to quantify seed losses during harvest related to grain trailers. We evaluated these losses to 400 seeds per m2 and we highlighted rare events of massive seed deposition. Statistical analysis of these losses enabled us to relate them with landscape elements, including the traffic roads and. In the context of GM crops cultivation in agroecosystems, these results emphasize the need to introduce the landscape complexity in models predicting the presence and persistence of GM OSR feral populations.Les agroécosystèmes sont des mosaïques d’espaces cultivés, d’espaces naturels et semi-naturels et d’infrastructures humaines fortement imbriqués et donc intrinsèquement liés et dépendants. Les espaces semi-naturels sont confinés généralement aux bordures de champs et aux bordures de route où se côtoient biodiversités végétales cultivées et sauvages. Cette thèse se concentre principalement sur la dispersion des graines de colza (Brassica napus L.) vers ces espaces qui peut conduire à la formation de populations de colza dites férales. A l’échelle d’un agroécosystème, l’étude de données génotypiques couplées à des méthodes d’assignations aux variétés commerciales existantes, a permis de mettre en évidence un lien entre la diversité variétale des champs de colza cultivés et la diversité variétale des populations férales de l’année suivante. De surcroît, l’étude de ces diversités variétales a montré que les champs ne sont pas des entités uniformes comportant des plantes d’une seule variété et que les populations férales accumulent les variétés au fil des années grâce aux apports annuels des champs récoltés, à la survie dans la banque de graines et à l’autorecrutement au sein des populations férales. La modélisation des flux efficaces de graines par une méthode de maximum de vraisemblance a permis d’identifier des dynamiques de dispersion locales au sein des agroécosystèmes. Suivant la zone considérée et les axes de circulation vers le silo de récolte, les sources locales de graines varient et les apports extérieurs de graines sont plus ou moins importants. Nos données nous ont permis d’estimer que les semis de la même année (n), les champs récoltés l’année antérieure ou même les années précédentes (jusqu’à n-2) pouvaient contribuer de manière significative à la présence de populations férales (l’année n). Les distances moyennes de dispersion estimées varient de la dizaine de mètres au kilomètre. Enfin, une expérimentation in-situ nous a permis de quantifier les pertes de graines pendant la récolte liées aux bennes de récolte. Nous avons évalué ces pertes à 400 graines par m2 et nous avons mis en évidence de rares évènements de pertes massives de graines. L’analyse statistique des résultats de ces pertes nous a permis de les mettre en relation avec des caractéristiques du paysage, notamment les surfaces des champs et les axes de circulations principaux et secondaires. Dans le contexte de mise en culture de plantes transgéniques, ces résultats impliquent de prendre en compte la complexité du paysage dans les modèles qui prédisent les flux de transgènes à l’échelle des agroécosystèmes

Dispersal of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) seeds and feral populations origins in an agroecosystem

Les agroécosystèmes sont des mosaïques d’espaces cultivés, d’espaces naturels et semi-naturels et d’infrastructures humaines fortement imbriqués et donc intrinsèquement liés et dépendants. Les espaces semi-naturels sont confinés généralement aux bordures de champs et aux bordures de route où se côtoient biodiversités végétales cultivées et sauvages. Cette thèse se concentre principalement sur la dispersion des graines de colza (Brassica napus L.) vers ces espaces qui peut conduire à la formation de populations de colza dites férales. A l’échelle d’un agroécosystème, l’étude de données génotypiques couplées à des méthodes d’assignations aux variétés commerciales existantes, a permis de mettre en évidence un lien entre la diversité variétale des champs de colza cultivés et la diversité variétale des populations férales de l’année suivante. De surcroît, l’étude de ces diversités variétales a montré que les champs ne sont pas des entités uniformes comportant des plantes d’une seule variété et que les populations férales accumulent les variétés au fil des années grâce aux apports annuels des champs récoltés, à la survie dans la banque de graines et à l’autorecrutement au sein des populations férales. La modélisation des flux efficaces de graines par une méthode de maximum de vraisemblance a permis d’identifier des dynamiques de dispersion locales au sein des agroécosystèmes. Suivant la zone considérée et les axes de circulation vers le silo de récolte, les sources locales de graines varient et les apports extérieurs de graines sont plus ou moins importants. Nos données nous ont permis d’estimer que les semis de la même année (n), les champs récoltés l’année antérieure ou même les années précédentes (jusqu’à n-2) pouvaient contribuer de manière significative à la présence de populations férales (l’année n). Les distances moyennes de dispersion estimées varient de la dizaine de mètres au kilomètre. Enfin, une expérimentation in-situ nous a permis de quantifier les pertes de graines pendant la récolte liées aux bennes de récolte. Nous avons évalué ces pertes à 400 graines par m2 et nous avons mis en évidence de rares évènements de pertes massives de graines. L’analyse statistique des résultats de ces pertes nous a permis de les mettre en relation avec des caractéristiques du paysage, notamment les surfaces des champs et les axes de circulations principaux et secondaires. Dans le contexte de mise en culture de plantes transgéniques, ces résultats impliquent de prendre en compte la complexité du paysage dans les modèles qui prédisent les flux de transgènes à l’échelle des agroécosystèmes.Agroecosystems are mosaics of cultivated areas where natural and semi-natural areas and human infrastructures are strongly nested and intrinsically linked and dependent. Semi-natural areas are generally confined to field edges and roadsides where wild and cultivated plants biodiversity are combined. This thesis focuses mainly on seed dispersal of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) towards semi-natural areas which can lead to establishment of feral oilseed rape populations. At the agroecosystem scale, the study of genotypic data coupled with assignment methods to existing commercial cultivars has highlighted the link between diversity of cultivars of oilseed rape cultivated fields with diversity of cultivar of feral populations the following year. Furthermore, the study of cultivar diversity revealed that fields are not uniformly composed of plants of a unique cultivar and that feral populations accumulate different cultivars over years consecutive of annual seeds rain of harvested fields, survival in the seed bank and self-recruitment in feral populations. Modeling the effective seed flow with maximum likelihood method revealed local dispersal dynamics within the agroecosystem. Local and extern sources of seeds differ according the area studied and the traffic roads to the silo. Our data have shown that both sowing of the same year (n), the fields harvested the previous year or even in previous years (up to n-2) could significantly contribute to the presence of feral populations (year n). The average dispersal distances estimated range from ten meters to kilometers. Finally, an in-situ experiment enabled us to quantify seed losses during harvest related to grain trailers. We evaluated these losses to 400 seeds per m2 and we highlighted rare events of massive seed deposition. Statistical analysis of these losses enabled us to relate them with landscape elements, including the traffic roads and. In the context of GM crops cultivation in agroecosystems, these results emphasize the need to introduce the landscape complexity in models predicting the presence and persistence of GM OSR feral populations

Genetic Diversity of Oilseed Rape Fields and Feral Populations in the Context of Coexistence with GMcrops

Despite growing concern about transgenes escaping from fields, few studies have analysed the genetic diversity of crops in an agroecosystem over several years. Accurate information about the dynamics and relationship of the genetic diversity of crops in an agroecosystem is essential for risk assessment and policies concerning the containment of genetically modified crops and their coexistence with crops grown by conventional practices. We analysed the genetic diversity of oilseed rape plants from fields and feral populations over 4 years in an agricultural 26 landscape of 41 km2. We used exact compatibility and maximum likelihood assignment methods to assign these plants to cultivars. Even pure lines and hybrids cultivar seed lots contained several genotypes. The cultivar diversity in fields reflected the conventional view of agroecosystems quite well. Three types of field emerged : fields sown with a single cultivar, fields sown with two cultivars, and un assigned fields. Field plant diversity was higher than expected, indicating the persistence of cultivars that were grown for only one year. The cultivar composition of feral populations was similar to that of field plants, with an increasing number of cultivars each year. By using genetic tools, we found a link between the cultivars of field plants in a particular year and the cultivars of feral population plants in the following year. Feral populations on road verges were more diverse than those on path verges. All of these findings have consequences in the context of coexistence with genetically modified crops

New insights into the population genetics of partiallyclonal organisms: when seagrass data meettheoretical expectations

Species structuring marine coastal ecosystems (as corals, phanerogams and algae) are strictly or partially clonal. Understanding the dynamics and evolutionary consequences of this life history trait is thus a major challenge to preserve these ecosystems. For many years theorical works on clonality predict that only almost exclusive clonal reproduction would significantly affect the expected genetic composition of populations, particularly the departure from Hardy Weinberg equilibrium (Fis) and the linkage disequilibrium. Departure from HWE toward an excess of heterozygotes thus tended to be considered as a clue for nearly exclusive clonal reproduction. Recent findings however suggest that with increasing clonality (c) even at intermediate rates, while the clonal richness (R) moves toward 0, the variance of the fixation index (Fis) increases and Fis itself has an increasing probability for exhibiting negative values, suggesting an incidence of even modest rates of clonal reproduction. Here we considered four phanerogams: Posidonia oceanica, Cymodocea nodosa, Zostera marina and Zostera noltii, for which the ecological expectations are decreasing longevity and increasing turn-over rates and thus, decreasing clonality. This meta-analysis gathered data from 141 populations. From the longest-living species with the lowest turn-over, so the more expected clonal, Posidonia oceanica, to the shortest-living with the highest turn-over, the less clonal species, Zostera noltii, while the index R increases, departure from HWE is decreasing progressively from significant and negative to non-significant values. These empirical data support the more recent models suggesting an inuence of partial clonality on the genetic composition of populations, even at intermediate rates of c

Dispersion des graines de colza (Brassica napus L.) et origines des populations férales dans un agroécosystème

Les agroécosystèmes sont des mosaïques d espaces cultivés, d espaces naturels et semi-naturels et d infrastructures humaines fortement imbriqués et donc intrinsèquement liés et dépendants. Les espaces semi-naturels sont confinés généralement aux bordures de champs et aux bordures de route où se côtoient biodiversités végétales cultivées et sauvages. Cette thèse se concentre principalement sur la dispersion des graines de colza (Brassica napus L.) vers ces espaces qui peut conduire à la formation de populations de colza dites férales. A l échelle d un agroécosystème, l étude de données génotypiques couplées à des méthodes d assignations aux variétés commerciales existantes, a permis de mettre en évidence un lien entre la diversité variétale des champs de colza cultivés et la diversité variétale des populations férales de l année suivante. De surcroît, l étude de ces diversités variétales a montré que les champs ne sont pas des entités uniformes comportant des plantes d une seule variété et que les populations férales accumulent les variétés au fil des années grâce aux apports annuels des champs récoltés, à la survie dans la banque de graines et à l autorecrutement au sein des populations férales. La modélisation des flux efficaces de graines par une méthode de maximum de vraisemblance a permis d identifier des dynamiques de dispersion locales au sein des agroécosystèmes. Suivant la zone considérée et les axes de circulation vers le silo de récolte, les sources locales de graines varient et les apports extérieurs de graines sont plus ou moins importants. Nos données nous ont permis d estimer que les semis de la même année (n), les champs récoltés l année antérieure ou même les années précédentes (jusqu à n-2) pouvaient contribuer de manière significative à la présence de populations férales (l année n). Les distances moyennes de dispersion estimées varient de la dizaine de mètres au kilomètre. Enfin, une expérimentation in-situ nous a permis de quantifier les pertes de graines pendant la récolte liées aux bennes de récolte. Nous avons évalué ces pertes à 400 graines par m2 et nous avons mis en évidence de rares évènements de pertes massives de graines. L analyse statistique des résultats de ces pertes nous a permis de les mettre en relation avec des caractéristiques du paysage, notamment les surfaces des champs et les axes de circulations principaux et secondaires. Dans le contexte de mise en culture de plantes transgéniques, ces résultats impliquent de prendre en compte la complexité du paysage dans les modèles qui prédisent les flux de transgènes à l échelle des agroécosystèmes.Agroecosystems are mosaics of cultivated areas where natural and semi-natural areas and human infrastructures are strongly nested and intrinsically linked and dependent. Semi-natural areas are generally confined to field edges and roadsides where wild and cultivated plants biodiversity are combined. This thesis focuses mainly on seed dispersal of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) towards semi-natural areas which can lead to establishment of feral oilseed rape populations. At the agroecosystem scale, the study of genotypic data coupled with assignment methods to existing commercial cultivars has highlighted the link between diversity of cultivars of oilseed rape cultivated fields with diversity of cultivar of feral populations the following year. Furthermore, the study of cultivar diversity revealed that fields are not uniformly composed of plants of a unique cultivar and that feral populations accumulate different cultivars over years consecutive of annual seeds rain of harvested fields, survival in the seed bank and self-recruitment in feral populations. Modeling the effective seed flow with maximum likelihood method revealed local dispersal dynamics within the agroecosystem. Local and extern sources of seeds differ according the area studied and the traffic roads to the silo. Our data have shown that both sowing of the same year (n), the fields harvested the previous year or even in previous years (up to n-2) could significantly contribute to the presence of feral populations (year n). The average dispersal distances estimated range from ten meters to kilometers. Finally, an in-situ experiment enabled us to quantify seed losses during harvest related to grain trailers. We evaluated these losses to 400 seeds per m2 and we highlighted rare events of massive seed deposition. Statistical analysis of these losses enabled us to relate them with landscape elements, including the traffic roads and. In the context of GM crops cultivation in agroecosystems, these results emphasize the need to introduce the landscape complexity in models predicting the presence and persistence of GM OSR feral populations.PARIS11-SCD-Bib. électronique (914719901) / SudocSudocFranceF

New insights into the population genetics of partiallyclonal organisms: when seagrass data meettheoretical expectations

National audienceSpecies structuring marine coastal ecosystems (as corals, phanerogams and algae) are strictly or partially clonal. Understanding the dynamics and evolutionary consequences of this life history trait is thus a major challenge to preserve these ecosystems. For many years theorical works on clonality predict that only almost exclusive clonal reproduction would significantly affect the expected genetic composition of populations, particularly the departure from Hardy Weinberg equilibrium (Fis) and the linkage disequilibrium. Departure from HWE toward an excess of heterozygotes thus tended to be considered as a clue for nearly exclusive clonal reproduction. Recent findings however suggest that with increasing clonality (c) even at intermediate rates, while the clonal richness (R) moves toward 0, the variance of the fixation index (Fis) increases and Fis itself has an increasing probability for exhibiting negative values, suggesting an incidence of even modest rates of clonal reproduction. Here we considered four phanerogams: Posidonia oceanica, Cymodocea nodosa, Zostera marina and Zostera noltii, for which the ecological expectations are decreasing longevity and increasing turn-over rates and thus, decreasing clonality. This meta-analysis gathered data from 141 populations. From the longest-living species with the lowest turn-over, so the more expected clonal, Posidonia oceanica, to the shortest-living with the highest turn-over, the less clonal species, Zostera noltii, while the index R increases, departure from HWE is decreasing progressively from significant and negative to non-significant values. These empirical data support the more recent models suggesting an inuence of partial clonality on the genetic composition of populations, even at intermediate rates of c

Genetic Diversity of Oilseed Rape Fields and Feral Populations in the Context of Coexistence with GM Crops

Despite growing concern about transgenes escaping from fields, few studies have analysed the genetic diversity of crops in an agroecosystem over several years. Accurate information about the dynamics and relationship of the genetic diversity of crops in an agroecosystem is essential for risk assessment and policies concerning the containment of genetically modified crops and their coexistence with crops grown by conventional practices. Here, we analysed the genetic diversity of oilseed rape plants from fields and feral populations over 4 years in an agricultural landscape of 41 km2.We used exact compatibility and maximum likelihood assignment methods to assign these plants to cultivars. Even pure lines andhybrid cultivar seed lots contained several genotypes. The cultivar diversity in fields reflected the conventional view of agroecosystems quite well: that is, there was a succession of cultivars, some grown for longer than others because of their good performance, some used for one year and then abandoned, and others gradually adopted. Three types of field emerged: fields sown with a single cultivar, fields sown with two cultivars, and unassigned fields (too many cultivars or unassigned plants to reliably assign the field). Field plant diversity was higher than expected, indicating the persistence of cultivars that weregrown for only one year. The cultivar composition of feral populations was similar to that of field plants, with an increasing number of cultivars each year. By using genetic tools, we found a link between the cultivars of field plants in a particular year and the cultivars of feral population plants in the following year. Feral populations on road verges were more diverse than those on path verges. All of these findings are discussed in terms of their consequences in the context of coexistence with genetically modified crops