Clonal Variation in Acorn Production and its Effect on the Effective Population Size in a Quercus acutissima Seed Orchard

Acorn production was surveyed for eight consecutive years (2000-2007) in a 94-clone Sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima) seed orchard established in 1992. Acorn production commenced in 2000 and peaked in 2005 and was characterized by a 3-4 years interval. Sixty out of the orchard’s 94 clones were consistent producers across the study period. Acorn production’s Pearson productmoment and Spearman rank correlation coefficients were significant and consistently positive over the eight years study period. Parental cumulative reproductive output, represented by parental balance curves, slightly varied among mast years and showed steady improvement (less distortion) over years. Effective population size (N_p) was high in moderate and good acorn production years; however, departure from clonal equal contribution was observed throughout the study period. Parental effective population size was estimated under various scenarios of male fecundity (pollen production is: 1) proportional to clone size, 2) equal to female contribution, and 3) equal across all clones) resulted in high N_p and low group co-ancestry under equal male fecundity scenario while moderate N_p size and group co-ancestry were observed when male fecundity was assumed to be proportional to clone size (i.e., ramet number).