Habitat Choice and Temporal Variation Alter the Balance between Adaptation by Genetic Differentiation, a Jack-of-All-Trades Strategy, and Phenotypic Plasticity

2016 ◽  
Vol 187 (5) ◽  
pp. 633-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel M. Scheiner
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Genetic Differentiation ◽  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Habitat Choice

Variation in regrowth ability in relation to land-use intensity in three common grassland herbs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kirschbaum ◽  
Oliver Bossdorf ◽  
J F Scheepens
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Temporal Stability ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
Biomass Removal ◽  
Reproductive Biomass

Abstract Aims Plant populations in managed grasslands are subject to strong selection exerted by grazing, mowing and fertilization. Many previous studies showed that this can cause evolutionary changes in mean trait values, but little is known about the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in response to land use. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the relationships between phenotypic plasticity – specifically, regrowth ability after biomass removal – and the intensity of grassland management and levels of temporal variation therein. Methods We conducted an outdoor common garden experiment to test if plants from more intensively mown and grazed sites showed an increased ability to regrow after biomass removal. We used three common plant species from temperate European grasslands, with seed material from 58 – 68 populations along gradients of land-use intensity, ranging from extensive (only light grazing) to very intensive management (up to four cuts per year). Important findings In two out of three species, we found significant population differentiation in regrowth ability after clipping. While variation in regrowth ability was unrelated to the mean land-use intensity of populations of origin, we found a relationship with its temporal variation in P. lanceolata, where plants experiencing less variable environmental conditions over the last 11 years showed stronger regrowth in reproductive biomass after clipping. Therefore, while mean grazing and mowing intensity may not select for regrowth ability, the temporal stability of the environmental heterogeneity created by land use may have caused its evolution in some species.

scholarly journals Genetic Differentiation and Phenotypic Plasticity of Forest Herbaceous Species in Iowa, Central United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-168
Author(s):  
Emily A. Altrichter ◽  
Catherine M. Mabry ◽  
Janette R. Thompson ◽  
Randall K. Kolka
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Genetic Differentiation ◽  
Herbaceous Species ◽  
Central United States

scholarly journals The Effects of Temporal Variation on Fitness, Functional Traits, and Species Distribution Patterns

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy C Emery ◽  
Raffica J La Rosa
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Vernal Pools ◽  
Bet Hedging ◽  
Selection For

AbstractTemporal variation is a powerful source of selection on life history strategies and functional traits in natural populations. Theory predicts that the rate and predictability of fluctuations should favor distinct strategies, ranging from phenotypic plasticity to bet-hedging, which are likely to have important consequences for species distribution patterns and their responses to environmental change. To date, we have few empirical studies that test those predictions in natural systems, and little is known about how genetic, environmental, and developmental factors interact to define the “fluctuation niche” of species in temporally variable environments. In this study, we evaluated the effects of hydrological variability on fitness and functional trait variation in three closely related plant species in the genus Lasthenia that occupy different microhabitats within vernal pool landscapes. Using a controlled greenhouse experiment, we manipulated the mean and variability in hydrological conditions by growing plants at different depths with respect to a shared water table and manipulating the magnitude of stochastic fluctuations in the water table over time. We found that all species had similarly high relative fitness above the water table, but differed in their sensitivities to water table fluctuations. Specifically, the two species from vernal pools basins, where soil moisture is controlled by a perched water table, were negatively affected by the stochasticity treatments. In contrast, a species from the upland habitat surrounding vernal pools, where stochastic precipitation events control soil moisture variation, was insensitive to experimental fluctuations in the water table. We found strong signatures of genetic, environmental (plastic), and developmental variation in four traits that can influence plant hydrological responses. Three of these traits varied across plant development and among experimental treatments in directions that aligned with constitutive differences among species, suggesting that multiple sources of variation align to facilitate phenotypic matching with the hydrological environment in Lasthenia. We found little evidence for predicted patterns of phenotypic plasticity and bet-hedging in species and traits from predictable and stochastic environments, respectively. We propose that selection for developmental shifts in the hydrological traits of Lasthenia species has reduced or modified selection for plasticity at any given stage of development. Collectively, these results suggest that variation in species’ sensitivities to hydrological stochasticity may explain why vernal pool Lasthenia species do not occur in upland habitat, and that all three species integrate genetic, environmental, and developmental information to manage the unique patterns of temporal hydrological variation in their respective microhabitats.

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