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Landoni B, Suárez-Montes P, Habeahan RHF, Brennan AC, Pérez-Barrales R. Local climate and vernalization sensitivity predict the latitudinal patterns of flowering onset in the crop wild relative Linum bienne Mill. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2024; 134:117-130. [PMID: 38482916 PMCID: PMC11161566 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcae040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS The timing of flowering onset is often correlated with latitude, indicative of climatic gradients. Flowering onset in temperate species commonly requires exposure to cold temperatures, known as vernalization. Hence, population differentiation of flowering onset with latitude might reflect adaptation to the local climatic conditions experienced by populations. METHODS Within its western range, seeds from Linum bienne populations (the wild relative of cultivated Linum usitatissimum) were used to describe the latitudinal differentiation of flowering onset to determine its association with the local climate of the population. A vernalization experiment including different crop cultivars was used to determine how vernalization accelerates flowering onset, in addition to the vernalization sensitivity response among populations and cultivars. Additionally, genetic differentiation of L. bienne populations along the latitudinal range was scrutinized using microsatellite markers. KEY RESULTS Flowering onset varied with latitude of origin, with southern populations flowering earlier than their northern counterparts. Vernalization reduced the number of days to flowering onset, but vernalization sensitivity was greater in northern populations compared with southern ones. Conversely, vernalization delayed flowering onset in the crop, exhibiting less variation in sensitivity. In L. bienne, both flowering onset and vernalization sensitivity were better predicted by the local climate of the population than by latitude itself. Microsatellite data unveiled genetic differentiation of populations, forming two groups geographically partitioned along latitude. CONCLUSIONS The consistent finding of latitudinal variation across experiments suggests that both flowering onset and vernalization sensitivity in L. bienne populations are under genetic regulation and might depend on climatic cues at the place of origin. The association with climatic gradients along latitude suggests that the climate experienced locally drives population differentiation of the flowering onset and vernalization sensitivity patterns. The genetic population structure suggests that past population history could have influenced the flowering initiation patterns detected, which deserves further work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice Landoni
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
- Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Rocío Pérez-Barrales
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
- Botany Department, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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Gabud R, Lapitan P, Mariano V, Mendoza E, Pampolina N, Clariño MAA, Batista-Navarro R. Unsupervised literature mining approaches for extracting relationships pertaining to habitats and reproductive conditions of plant species. Front Artif Intell 2024; 7:1371411. [PMID: 38845683 PMCID: PMC11153722 DOI: 10.3389/frai.2024.1371411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Fine-grained, descriptive information on habitats and reproductive conditions of plant species are crucial in forest restoration and rehabilitation efforts. Precise timing of fruit collection and knowledge of species' habitat preferences and reproductive status are necessary especially for tropical plant species that have short-lived recalcitrant seeds, and those that exhibit complex reproductive patterns, e.g., species with supra-annual mass flowering events that may occur in irregular intervals. Understanding plant regeneration in the way of planning for effective reforestation can be aided by providing access to structured information, e.g., in knowledge bases, that spans years if not decades as well as covering a wide range of geographic locations. The content of such a resource can be enriched with literature-derived information on species' time-sensitive reproductive conditions and location-specific habitats. Methods We sought to develop unsupervised approaches to extract relationships pertaining to habitats and their locations, and reproductive conditions of plant species and corresponding temporal information. Firstly, we handcrafted rules for a traditional rule-based pattern matching approach. We then developed a relation extraction approach building upon transformer models, i.e., the Text-to-Text Transfer Transformer (T5), casting the relation extraction problem as a question answering and natural language inference task. We then propose a novel unsupervised hybrid approach that combines our rule-based and transformer-based approaches. Results Evaluation of our hybrid approach on an annotated corpus of biodiversity-focused documents demonstrated an improvement of up to 15 percentage points in recall and best performance over solely rule-based and transformer-based methods with F1-scores ranging from 89.61 to 96.75% for reproductive condition - temporal expression relations, and ranging from 85.39% to 89.90% for habitat - geographic location relations. Our work shows that even without training models on any domain-specific labeled dataset, we are able to extract relationships between biodiversity concepts from literature with satisfactory performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roselyn Gabud
- Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
- Institute of Computer Science, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
| | - Portia Lapitan
- Department of Forest Biological Sciences, College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
| | - Vladimir Mariano
- Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Academy, Fulbright University Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Eduardo Mendoza
- Institute of Computer Science, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
- Mathematics and Statistics Department, De la Salle University, Manila, Philippines
- Center for Natural Science and Environmental Research, De la Salle University, Manila, Philippines
- Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Munich, Germany
| | - Nelson Pampolina
- Department of Forest Biological Sciences, College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
| | - Maria Art Antonette Clariño
- Institute of Computer Science, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
| | - Riza Batista-Navarro
- Institute of Computer Science, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
- Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
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Zettlemoyer MA, Conner RJ, Seaver MM, Waddle E, DeMarche ML. A Long-Lived Alpine Perennial Advances Flowering under Warmer Conditions but Not Enough to Maintain Reproductive Success. Am Nat 2024; 203:E157-E174. [PMID: 38635358 DOI: 10.1086/729438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
AbstractAssessing whether phenological shifts in response to climate change confer a fitness advantage requires investigating the relationships among phenology, fitness, and environmental drivers of selection. Despite widely documented advancements in phenology with warming climate, we lack empirical estimates of how selection on phenology varies in response to continuous climate drivers or how phenological shifts in response to warming conditions affect fitness. We leverage an unusual long-term dataset with repeated, individual measurements of phenology and reproduction in a long-lived alpine plant. We analyze phenotypic plasticity in flowering phenology in relation to two climate drivers, snowmelt timing and growing degree days (GDDs). Plants flower earlier with increased GDDs and earlier snowmelt, and directional selection also favors earlier flowering under these conditions. However, reproduction still declines with warming and early snowmelt, even when flowering is early. Furthermore, the steepness of this reproductive decline increases dramatically with warming conditions, resulting in very little fruit production regardless of flowering time once GDDs exceed approximately 225 degree days or snowmelt occurs before May 15. Even though advancing phenology confers a fitness advantage relative to stasis, these shifts are insufficient to maintain reproduction under warming, highlighting limits to the potential benefits of phenological plasticity under climate change.
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Davies WJ, Saccheri IJ. Evolutionary trajectory of phenological escape in a flowering plant: Mechanistic insights from bidirectional avoidance of butterfly egg-laying pressure. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11330. [PMID: 38694753 PMCID: PMC11056787 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Phenological escape, whereby species alter the timing of life-history events to avoid seasonal antagonists, is usually analyzed either as a potential evolutionary outcome given current selection coefficients, or as a realized outcome in response to known enemies. We here gain mechanistic insights into the evolutionary trajectory of phenological escape in the brassicaceous herb Cardamine pratensis, by comparing the flowering schedules of two sympatric ecotypes in different stages of a disruptive response to egg-laying pressure imposed by the pierid butterfly Anthocharis cardamines, whose larvae are pre-dispersal seed predators (reducing realized fecundity by ~70%). When the focal point of highest intensity selection (peak egg-laying) occurs early in the flowering schedule, selection for late flowering dependent on reduced egg-laying combined with selection for early flowering dependent on reduced predator survival results in a symmetrical bimodal flowering curve; when the focal point occurs late, an asymmetrical flowering curve results with a large early flowering mode due to selection for reduced egg-laying augmented by selection for infested plants to outrun larval development and dehisce prior to seed-pod consumption. Unequal selection pressures on high and low fecundity ramets, due to asynchronous flowering and morphologically targeted (size-dependent) egg-laying, constrain phenological escape, with bimodal flowering evolving primarily in response to disruptive selection on high fecundity phenotypes. These results emphasize the importance of analyzing variation in selection coefficients among morphological phenotypes over the entire flowering schedule to predict how populations will evolve in response to altered phenologies resulting from climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- W. James Davies
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, Department of Evolution, Ecology and BehaviourUniversity of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
| | - Ilik J. Saccheri
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, Department of Evolution, Ecology and BehaviourUniversity of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
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Authier A, Cerdán P, Auge G. Non-stressful temperature changes affect transgenerational phenotypic plasticity across the life cycle of Arabidopsis thaliana plants. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2023; 132:1259-1270. [PMID: 37956109 PMCID: PMC10902895 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Plants respond in a plastic manner to seasonal changes, often resulting in adaptation to environmental variation. Although much is known about how seasonality regulates developmental transitions within generations, transgenerational effects of non-stressful environmental changes are only beginning to be unveiled. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of ambient temperature changes on the expression of transgenerational plasticity in key developmental traits of Arabidopsis thaliana plants. METHODS We grew Columbia-0 plants in two contrasting temperature environments (18 and 24 °C) during their whole life cycles, or the combination of those temperatures before and after bolting (18-24 and 24-18 °C) across two generations. We recorded seed germination, flowering time and reproductive biomass production for the second generation, and seed size of the third generation. KEY RESULTS The environment during the whole life cycle of the first generation of plants, even that experienced before flowering, influenced the germination response and flowering time of the second generation. These effects showed opposing directions in a pattern dependent on the life stage experiencing the cue in the first generation. In contrast, the production of reproductive biomass depended on the immediate environment of the progeny generation. Finally, the seed area of the third generation was influenced positively by correlated environments across generations. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that non-stressful environmental changes affect the expression of key developmental traits across generations, although those changes can have contrasting effects depending on the parental and grandparental life stage that perceives the cue. Thus, transgenerational effects in response to non-stressful cues might influence the expression of life-history traits and potential adaptation of future generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ailén Authier
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Biociencias, Biotecnología y Biología Traslacional (iB3), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Pablo Cerdán
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Fundación Instituto Leloir, Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas Buenos Aires - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (IIBBA - CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gabriela Auge
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Biociencias, Biotecnología y Biología Traslacional (iB3), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Ehrlén J, Valdés A, Helmutsdóttir VF, Marteinsdóttir B. Maladaptive plastic responses of flowering time to geothermal heating. Ecology 2023; 104:e4121. [PMID: 37309069 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity might increase fitness if the conditions under which it evolved remain unaltered, but becomes maladaptive if the environment no longer provides reliable cues for subsequent conditions. In seasonal environments, timing of reproduction can respond plastically to spring temperature, maximizing the benefits of a long season while minimizing the exposure to unfavorable cold temperatures. However, if the relationship between early spring temperatures and later conditions changes, the optimal response might change. In geothermally heated ecosystems, the plastic response of flowering time to springtime soil temperature that has evolved in unheated areas is likely to be non-optimal, because soil temperatures are higher and decoupled from air temperatures in heated areas. We therefore expect natural selection to favor a lower plasticity and a delayed flowering in these areas. Using observational data along a natural geothermal warming gradient, we tested the hypothesis that selection on flowering time depends on soil temperature and favors later flowering on warmer soils in the perennial Cerastium fontanum. In both study years, plants growing in warmer soils began flowering earlier than plants growing in colder soils, suggesting that first flowering date (FFD) responds plastically to soil temperature. In one of the two study years, selection favored earlier flowering in colder soils but later flowering in warmer soils, suggesting that the current level of plastic advance of FFD on warmer soils may be maladaptive in some years. Our results illustrate the advantages of using natural experiments, such as geothermal ecosystems, to examine selection in environments that recently have undergone major changes. Such knowledge is essential to understand and predict both ecological and evolutionary responses to climate warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alicia Valdés
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Park JS, Post E. Seasonal timing on a cyclical Earth: Towards a theoretical framework for the evolution of phenology. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001952. [PMID: 36574457 PMCID: PMC9829184 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenology refers to the seasonal timing patterns commonly exhibited by life on Earth, from blooming flowers to breeding birds to human agriculture. Climate change is altering abiotic seasonality (e.g., longer summers) and in turn, phenological patterns contained within. However, how phenology should evolve is still an unsolved problem. This problem lies at the crux of predicting future phenological changes that will likely have substantial ecosystem consequences, and more fundamentally, of understanding an undeniably global phenomenon. Most studies have associated proximate environmental variables with phenological responses in case-specific ways, making it difficult to contextualize observations within a general evolutionary framework. We outline the complex but universal ways in which seasonal timing maps onto evolutionary fitness. We borrow lessons from life history theory and evolutionary demography that have benefited from a first principles-based theoretical scaffold. Lastly, we identify key questions for theorists and empiricists to help advance our general understanding of phenology.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S. Park
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Eric Post
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, United States of America
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8
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Valdés A, Helmutsdóttir VF, Marteinsdottir B, Ehrlén J. Selection against early flowering in geothermally heated soils is associated with pollen but not prey availability in a carnivorous plant. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2022; 109:1693-1701. [PMID: 35971628 PMCID: PMC9826420 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE In high-latitude environments, plastic responses of phenology to increasing spring temperatures allow plants to extend growing seasons while avoiding late frosts. However, evolved plasticity might become maladaptive if climatic conditions change and spring temperatures no longer provide reliable cues for conditions important for fitness. Maladaptative phenological responses might be related to both abiotic factors and mismatches with interacting species. When mismatches arise, we expect selection to favor changes in phenology. METHODS We combined observations along a soil temperature gradient in a geothermally heated area with pollen and prey supplementation experiments and examined how phenotypic selection on flowering time in the carnivorous plant Pinguicula vulgaris depends on soil temperature, and pollen and prey availability. RESULTS Flowering advanced and fitness decreased with increasing soil temperature. However, in pollen-supplemented plants, fitness instead increased with soil temperature. In heated soils, there was selection favoring later flowering, while earlier flowering was favored in unheated soils. This pattern remained also after artificially increasing pollen and prey availability. CONCLUSIONS Plant-pollinator mismatches can be an important reason why evolved plastic responses of flowering time to increasing spring temperatures become maladaptive under novel environmental conditions, and why there is selection to delay flowering. In our study, selection for later flowering remained after artificially increasing pollen availability, suggesting that abiotic factors also contribute to the observed selection. Identifying the factors that make evolved phenological responses maladaptive under novel conditions is fundamental for understanding and predicting evolutionary responses to climate warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Valdés
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversitySE‐106 91StockholmSweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate ResearchStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
| | - Vigdís F. Helmutsdóttir
- The Soil Conservation Service of Iceland851 HellaIceland
- Institute of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Iceland102 ReykjavíkIceland
| | | | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversitySE‐106 91StockholmSweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate ResearchStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
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Mundi O, Awa Ii T, Chmel K, Ewome FL, Uceda-Gómez G, Janečková P, Janeček Š. The ornithophily of Impatiens sakeriana does not guarantee a preference by sunbirds. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blac083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
In recent decades, the tight mutual specialization between nectarivorous birds and ornithophilous plants has been questioned, and instead, high degrees of generalization and interaction asymmetry have been highlighted. Here, we studied interactions among two sunbirds and four plant species in two Mount Cameroon forests, with two plant species from each forest. First, we investigated whether sunbirds differ in frequencies of visitation to target plant species in natural conditions. Second, using a cage experiment, we investigated whether sunbirds prefer various plant species, plants with which they are more familiar and that occur in the habitat where they were caught and/or the only studied ornithophilous plant, Impatiens sakeriana. In natural conditions, the short-billed sunbird, Cinnyris reichenowi, fed more on flowers with shorter tubes than the long-billed sunbird, Cyanomitra oritis. Likewise, sunbirds differed in their experimental preferences. Local plants were generally preferred. This was most obvious in the case of I. sakeriana, which was often visited by both sunbirds, but only in the habitat where it grows naturally. This study supports the importance of associative learning. Together with other studies, we suggest that the signalling traits of flowers with bird pollination syndromes evolved to filter out other visitors rather than to attract bird pollinators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Onella Mundi
- Laboratory of Applied Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang , PO Box 67, Dschang, West Region , Cameroon
| | - Taku Awa Ii
- Laboratory of Applied Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang , PO Box 67, Dschang, West Region , Cameroon
| | - Kryštof Chmel
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University , Viničná 7, CZ-128 44 Praha 2 , Czech Republic
| | - Francis Luma Ewome
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University , Viničná 7, CZ-128 44 Praha 2 , Czech Republic
| | - Guillermo Uceda-Gómez
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University , Viničná 7, CZ-128 44 Praha 2 , Czech Republic
| | - Petra Janečková
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University , Viničná 7, CZ-128 44 Praha 2 , Czech Republic
| | - Štěpán Janeček
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University , Viničná 7, CZ-128 44 Praha 2 , Czech Republic
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Fournier-Level A, Taylor MA, Paril JF, Martínez-Berdeja A, Stitzer MC, Cooper MD, Roe JL, Wilczek AM, Schmitt J. Adaptive significance of flowering time variation across natural seasonal environments in Arabidopsis thaliana. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 234:719-734. [PMID: 35090191 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The relevance of flowering time variation and plasticity to climate adaptation requires a comprehensive empirical assessment. We investigated natural selection and the genetic architecture of flowering time in Arabidopsis through field experiments in Europe across multiple sites and seasons. We estimated selection for flowering time, plasticity and canalization. Loci associated with flowering time, plasticity and canalization by genome-wide association studies were tested for a geographic signature of climate adaptation. Selection favored early flowering and increased canalization, except at the northernmost site, but was rarely detected for plasticity. Genome-wide association studies revealed significant associations with flowering traits and supported a substantial polygenic inheritance. Alleles associated with late flowering, including functional FRIGIDA variants, were more common in regions experiencing high annual temperature variation. Flowering time plasticity to fall vs spring and summer environments was associated with GIGANTEA SUPPRESSOR 5, which promotes early flowering under decreasing day length and temperature. The finding that late flowering genotypes and alleles are associated with climate is evidence for past adaptation. Real-time phenotypic selection analysis, however, reveals pervasive contemporary selection for rapid flowering in agricultural settings across most of the species range. The response to this selection may involve genetic shifts in environmental cuing compared to the ancestral state.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark A Taylor
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Jefferson F Paril
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic., 3010, Australia
| | | | - Michelle C Stitzer
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Martha D Cooper
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
| | - Judith L Roe
- College of Arts and Sciences, Biology, Agricultural Science & Agribusiness, University of Maine at Presque Isle, Presque Isle, ME, 04769, USA
| | | | - Johanna Schmitt
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
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Fogelström E, Zacchello G, Ehrlén J. Simultaneous selection on vegetative and reproductive phenology in a perennial herb. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8610. [PMID: 35222970 PMCID: PMC8847147 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The timing of different life‐history events is often correlated, and selection might only rarely be exerted independently on the timing of a single event. In plants, phenotypic selection has often been shown to favor earlier flowering. However, little is known about to what extent this selection acts directly versus indirectly via vegetative phenology, and if selection on the two traits is correlational. We estimated direct, indirect, and correlational phenotypic selection on vegetative and reproductive phenology over 3 years for flowering individuals of the perennial herb Lathyrus vernus. Direct selection favored earlier flowering and shorter timespans between leaf‐out and flowering in all years. However, early flowering was associated with early leaf‐out, and the direction of selection on leaf‐out day varied among years. As a result, selection on leaf‐out weakened selection for early flowering in one of the study years. We found no evidence of correlational selection. Our results highlight the importance of including temporally correlated traits when exploring selection on the phenology of seasonal events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Fogelström
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
| | - Giulia Zacchello
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Plant Ecology and Evolution Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
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12
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ValdÉs A, EhrlÉn J. Plant-animal interactions mediate climatic effects on selection on flowering time. Ecology 2021; 102:e03466. [PMID: 34236698 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Selection on flowering time in plants is often mediated by multiple agents, including climatic conditions and the intensity of mutualistic and antagonistic interactions with animals. These selective agents can have both direct and indirect effects. For example, climate might not only influence phenotypic selection on flowering time directly by affecting plant physiology, but it can also alter selection indirectly by modifying the seasonal activity and relative timing of animals interacting with plants. We used 21 yr of data to identify the drivers of selection on flowering time in the perennial herb Lathyrus vernus, and to examine if antagonistic plant-animal interactions mediate effects of climate on selection. We examined the fitness consequences of vertebrate grazing and predispersal seed predation, and how these effects varied among years and among individuals within years. Although both antagonistic plant-animal interactions had important negative effects on plant fitness, only grazing intensity was consistently related to plant phenology, being higher in early-flowering individuals. Spring temperature influenced the intensity of both plant-animal interactions, as well as the covariance between seed predation and plant phenology. However, only differences in grazing intensity among years were associated with differences in selection on flowering time; the strength of selection for early flowering being stronger in years with lower mean intensity of grazing. Our results illustrate how climatic conditions can influence plant-animal interactions that are important selective agents for plant traits. A broader implication of our findings is that both ecological and evolutionary responses to climatic changes might be indirect, and largely mediated by species interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia ValdÉs
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden.,Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan EhrlÉn
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden.,Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Guo X, Ma BL, McLaughlin NB, Wu X, Chen B, Gao Y. Nitrogen utilisation-efficient oilseed rape (Brassica napus) genotypes exhibit stronger growth attributes from flowering stage onwards. FUNCTIONAL PLANT BIOLOGY : FPB 2021; 48:755-765. [PMID: 33715767 DOI: 10.1071/fp20263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Preliminary studies observed a lower growth activity during the vegetative stage with higher growth attributes at the pod-filling stage among the high nitrogen (N) utilisation efficiency (NUtE) oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) genotypes, compared with the low NUtE genotypes. Therefore, we hypothesised that there would exist a critical growth stage when distinctive phenotypic traits are exhibited to regulate yield formation and NUE. A field experiment and a hydroponic culture were conducted to characterise the differences in shoot and root physiological indicators of the high and low NUtE oilseed rape genotypes at seedling, bud, bolting, flowering and pod-filling stages. We found that flowering was the critical period when the reverse growth habit occurred between high and low NUtE genotypes. The high NUtE genotypes displayed larger values of root traits, stronger N uptake kinetics parameters, higher activity of leaf glutamine synthetase (GS) and glutamate synthetase (GOGAT), larger SPAD values and net photosynthetic rate, ultimately leading to higher seed yield and NUE. Our results indicate that flowering is the critical growth stage to distinguish the high from low NUtE oilseed rape genotypes, and plant breeders may focus on selecting root and shoot phenotypic traits from flowering stage onwards to achieve both high yields and NUE for oilseed rape genotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Guo
- College of Natural Resource and Environment, Northwest A and F University, 712100 Yangling, Shaanxi, China; and Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, K1A 0C6 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Bao-Luo Ma
- Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, K1A 0C6 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Neil B McLaughlin
- Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, K1A 0C6 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Xiaoming Wu
- Institute of Oil Crop Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 430062 Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Biyun Chen
- Institute of Oil Crop Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 430062 Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Yajun Gao
- College of Natural Resource and Environment, Northwest A and F University, 712100 Yangling, Shaanxi, China; and Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, 712100 Yangling, Shaanxi, China; and Corresponding author.
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14
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Ensing DJ, Sora DMDH, Eckert CG. Chronic selection for early reproductive phenology in an annual plant across a steep, elevational gradient of growing season length. Evolution 2021; 75:1681-1698. [PMID: 34048598 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2020] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Colonization along ubiquitous gradients of growing season length should require adaptation of phenological traits, driven by natural selection. Although phenology often varies with season length and genetic differentiation in phenological traits sometimes seems adaptive, few studies test whether natural selection is responsible for these patterns. The annual plant Rhinanthus minor is genetically differentiated for phenology across a 1000-m elevational gradient of growing season length in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. We estimated phenotypic selection on five phenological traits for three generations of naturally occurring individuals at 12 sites (n = 10,112), and two generations of genetically and phenotypically more variable transplanted populations at nine of these sites (n = 24,611). Selection was weak for most traits, but consistently favored early flowering across the gradient rather than only under short seasons. There was no evidence that apparent selection favoring early reproduction arose from failure to consider all components of fitness, or variation in other correlated phenological traits. Instead, selection for earlier flowering may be balanced by selection for strong cogradient phenological plasticity that indirectly favors later flowering. However, this probably does not explain the consistency of selection on flowering time across this steep, elevational gradient of growing season length.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Ensing
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Dylan M D H Sora
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada
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15
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Kudo G, Shibata A. Is increased male flower production a strategy for avoidance of predispersal seed predation in andromonoecious plants? Ecol Evol 2021; 11:5646-5656. [PMID: 34026036 PMCID: PMC8131791 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2020] [Revised: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Floral gender in angiosperms often varies within and among populations. We conducted a field survey to test how predispersal seed predation affects sex allocation in an andromonoecious alpine herb Peucedanum multivittatum. We compared plant size, male and perfect flower production, fruit set, and seed predation rate over three years among nine populations inhabiting diverse snowmelt conditions in alpine meadows. Flowering period of individual populations varied from mid-July to late August reflecting the snowmelt time. Although perfect flower and fruit productions increased with plant size, size dependency of male flower production was less clear. The number of male flowers was larger in the early-flowering populations, while the number of perfect flowers increased in the late-flowering populations. Thus, male-biased sex allocation was common in the early-flowering populations. Fruit-set rates varied among populations and between years, irrespective of flowering period. Fruit-set success of individual plants increased with perfect flower number, but independent of male flower number. Seed predation by lepidopteran larvae was intense in the early-flowering populations, whereas predation damage was absent in the late-flowering populations, reflecting the extent of phenological matching between flowering time of host plants and oviposition period of predator moths. Seed predation rate was independent of male and perfect flower numbers of individual plants. Thus, seed predation is a stochastic event in each population. There was a clear correlation between the proportion of male flowers and the intensity of seed predation among populations. These results suggest that male-biased sex allocation could be a strategy to reduce seed predation damage but maintain the effort as a pollen donor under intensive seed predation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaku Kudo
- Faculty of Environmental Earth ScienceHokkaido UniversitySapporoJapan
| | - Akari Shibata
- Faculty of Environmental Earth ScienceHokkaido UniversitySapporoJapan
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16
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Schnablová R, Huang L, Klimešová J, Šmarda P, Herben T. Inflorescence preformation prior to winter: a surprisingly widespread strategy that drives phenology of temperate perennial herbs. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 229:620-630. [PMID: 32805759 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Organ preformation in overwintering buds of perennial plants has been known for almost two centuries. It is hypothesized to underlie fast growth and early flowering, but its frequency, phylogenetic distribution, and ecological relevance have never been systematically examined. We microscopically observed inflorescence preformation in overwintering buds (IPB) in the autumn. We studied a phylogenetically and ecologically representative set of 330 species of temperate perennial angiosperms and linked these observations with quantitative data on species' flowering phenology, genome size, and ecology. IPB was observed in 34% of species examined (in 14% species the stamens and/or pistils were already developed). IPB is fairly phylogenetically conserved and frequent in many genera (Alchemilla, Carex, Euphorbia, Geranium, Primula, Pulmonaria) or families (Ranunculaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Violaceae, Boraginaceae). It was found in species of any genome size, although it was almost universal in those with large genomes. Compared with non-IPB species, IPB species flowered 38 d earlier on average and were more common in shaded and undisturbed habitats. IPB is a surprisingly widespread adaptation for early growth in predictable (undisturbed) conditions. It contributes to temporal niche differentiation and has important consequences for understanding plant phenology, genome size evolution, and phylogenetic structure of plant communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renáta Schnablová
- Department of Population Ecology, Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Průhonice, 252 43, Czech Republic
| | - Lin Huang
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha 2, 128 43, Czech Republic
- Institute of Wetland Ecology & Clone Ecology, Taizhou University, Taizhou, 318000, China
| | - Jitka Klimešová
- Department of Functional Ecology, Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Třeboň, 379 01, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Šmarda
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, 611 37, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Herben
- Department of Population Ecology, Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Průhonice, 252 43, Czech Republic
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha 2, 128 43, Czech Republic
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17
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A Nonparametric Model for Analysis of Flowering Patterns of Herbaceous Multi-flowered Monocarpic Shoots. Bull Math Biol 2020; 82:146. [PMID: 33201332 DOI: 10.1007/s11538-020-00824-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
One of the approaches to plant development description involves phenological curves, which represent the time variations of certain traits. Most models applied to various plant taxa and life forms describe their phenology, including flowering, at the population level, and insufficient attention is paid to the modeling at the individual one. Individual modeling is more complicated than populational one owing to the multilevel structure of a phenotype. And as a result, it is accompanied by a significant increase in the number of model parameters, many of which are both interdependent and non-transferable between species. Here, we present a simple structural-dynamic data-driven model to describe the flowering patterns of individual monocarpic shoots of herbaceous plants with multi-flowered inflorescences. This model is nonparametric, thus being convenient and applicable to various plant species. Our results showed the operability of the proposed model and its potential in the detection of hidden trends in the input data. This is illustrated by the example of the herbaceous polycarpic Campanula sarmatica, Campanulaceae family, whose inflorescences demonstrate a wide variability in the structure and dynamics of flowering. For example, using our model, we found that the shape of the flowering curve of C. sarmatica shoots as a whole is determined by only two factors, the ratio of the number of flowers on the main and lateral axes, and the time of the flowering shift from the main axis to the lateral axes. The proposed model accurately mimics the individual flowering pattern with due natural variability. It can be used to simulate the flowering of a group of individuals in cenopopulational studies or practical tasks, e.g., in landscape design. Flowering patterns that characterize inflorescence development at the individual level can serve as informative phenotypic traits in anthoecological and developmental studies, and in inflorescence diagnostics.
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18
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Zhao Z, Hou M, Wang Y, Du G. Phenological variation of flower longevity and duration of sex phases in a protandrous alpine plant: potential causes and fitness significance. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2020; 20:137. [PMID: 32245411 PMCID: PMC7118941 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-020-02356-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2019] [Accepted: 03/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Flower longevity plays an important role in pollen dispersal and reproductive success in plants. In dichogamous plants, the duration of anthesis as well as the time allocated to male and female functions can vary in response to intrinsic factors (e.g., flowering time and resource allocation) and pollination context along a growth season. However, the fitness consequences of phenological dynamics have rarely been examined. This study aims to unravel the potential causes driving variation in flower longevity, duration of sex phases, and phenotypic sex during a flowering season of strongly protandrous Aconitum gymnandrum, and particularly reproductive consequences of the phenological pattern. RESULTS Population floral sex ratio shifted from completely male at the beginning to completely female at the end of the season, as is common in other protandrous plants. Phenological dynamics of the floral sex ratio and the duration of sex phases caused a shift from femaleness to maleness in the mean phenotypic sex over the whole season. Floral longevity was negatively correlated with flower size and positively affected by temperature. Early flowers within inflorescences rather than early-flowering individuals emphasized the duration of female over male phase. Owing to the dominance of male-phase flowers, early flowering for individual flowers and plants, or female-biased sex resulted in higher pollen deposition per flower and seed set. At the flower level, flower longevity positively affected female reproductive success, while the effect of flower size was negative. By contrast, plant-level female reproductive success was negatively affected by flower longevity but positively correlated to flower size. CONCLUSIONS The major result of this study lies in elucidating the relationship between variation in phenological sex expression and floral longevity and their fitness consequences of protandrous A. gymnandrum. The contrasting results on female fitness for individual flowers and plants contribute to our current understanding of the adaptive significance of floral longevity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhigang Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000 China
| | - Meng Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000 China
| | - Yijie Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000 China
| | - Guozhen Du
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000 China
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19
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Ehrlén J, Valdés A. Climate drives among‐year variation in natural selection on flowering time. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:653-662. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 12/14/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University SE‐106 91 Stockholm Sweden
- Bolin Centre of Climate Research Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
| | - Alicia Valdés
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University SE‐106 91 Stockholm Sweden
- Bolin Centre of Climate Research Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
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20
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Segrestin J, Navas ML, Garnier E. Reproductive phenology as a dimension of the phenotypic space in 139 plant species from the Mediterranean. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2020; 225:740-753. [PMID: 31486531 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 08/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Phenology, the study of seasonal timing of events in nature, plays a key role in the matching between organisms and their environment. Yet, it has been poorly integrated in trait-based descriptions of the plant phenotype. Here, we focus on three phases of reproductive phenology - time of flowering, time of seed dispersal and duration of seed maturation - to test how these traits relate to other recognized dimensions of plant functioning. Traits describing reproductive phenology, together with reproductive plant height, seed mass, area of a leaf, and traits involved in leaf economics, were compiled for 139 species growing under Mediterranean climate conditions. Across all species, flowering time was positively related to reproductive height, while the duration of seed maturation was related to leaf economics. Relationships differed among growth forms, however: flowering time and reproductive height were related both in annuals and in herbaceous perennials, whereas the duration of seed maturation was related to seed mass only in annuals; no correlations were found for woody species. Phenology relates to other dimensions of plant functioning in a complex manner, suggesting that it should be considered as an independent dimension in the context of plant strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jules Segrestin
- CEFE, CNRS, Univ Montpellier, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Marie-Laure Navas
- CEFE, Montpellier SupAgro, CNRS, Univ. Montpellier, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, 34060, France
| | - Eric Garnier
- CEFE, CNRS, Univ Montpellier, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
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21
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Friedman J, Middleton TE, Rubin MJ. Environmental heterogeneity generates intrapopulation variation in life-history traits in an annual plant. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2019; 224:1171-1183. [PMID: 31400159 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2019] [Accepted: 08/01/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Environmental variation affects a plant's life cycle by influencing the timing of germination and flowering, and the duration of the growing season. Yet we know little information about how environmental heterogeneity generates variation in germination schedules and the consequences for growth and fecundity through genetic and plastic responses. We use an annual population of Mimulus guttatus in which, in nature, seeds germinate in both fall and spring. We investigate whether there is a genetic basis to the timing of germination, the effect of germination timing on fecundity, and if growth and flowering respond plastically to compensate for different season lengths. Using sibling families grown in simulated seasonal conditions, we find that families do not differ in their propensity to germinate between seasons. However, the germination season affects subsequent growth and flowering time, with significant genotype-by-environment interactions (G × E). Most G × E is due to unequal variance between seasons, because the spring cohort harbours little genetic variance. Despite their different season lengths, the cohorts do not differ in flower number (fecundity). Heterogeneous environments with unpredictable risks may maintain promiscuous germination, which then affects flowering time. Therefore, if selection at particular life stages changes with climate change, there may be consequences for the entire life cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jannice Friedman
- Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, 13244, USA
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada
| | | | - Matthew J Rubin
- Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, 13244, USA
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22
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How does timing of flowering affect competition for pollinators, flower visitation and seed set in an early spring grassland plant? Sci Rep 2019; 9:15593. [PMID: 31666567 PMCID: PMC6821694 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51916-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Knowledge on how the timing of flowering is related to plant fitness and species interactions is crucial to understand consequences of phenological shifts as they occur under climate change. Early flowering plants may face advantages of low competition for pollinators and disadvantages of low pollinator abundances and unfavourable weather conditions. However, it is unknown how this trade-off changes over the season and how the timing affects reproductive success. On eight grasslands we recorded intra-seasonal changes in pollinators, co-flowering plants, weather conditions, flower visitation rates, floral longevity and seed set of Pulsatilla vulgaris. Although bee abundances and the number of pollinator-suitable hours were low at the beginning of the season, early flowers of P. vulgaris received higher flower visitation rates and estimated total number of bee visits than later flowers, which was positively related to seed set. Flower visitation rates decreased over time and with increasing number of co-flowering plants, which competed with P. vulgaris for pollinators. Low interspecific competition for pollinators seems to be a major driver for early flowering dates. Thus, non-synchronous temporal shifts of co-flowering plants as they may occur under climate warming can be expected to strongly affect plant-pollinator interactions and the fitness of the involved plants.
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23
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Valdés A, Marteinsdóttir B, Ehrlén J. A natural heating experiment: Phenotypic and genotypic responses of plant phenology to geothermal soil warming. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:954-962. [PMID: 30430704 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Under global warming, the survival of many populations of sedentary organisms in seasonal environments will largely depend on their ability to cope with warming in situ by means of phenotypic plasticity or adaptive evolution. This is particularly true in high-latitude environments, where current growing seasons are short, and expected temperature increases large. In such short-growing season environments, the timing of growth and reproduction is critical to survival. Here, we use the unique setting provided by a natural geothermal soil warming gradient (Hengill geothermal area, Iceland) to study the response of Cerastium fontanum flowering phenology to temperature. We hypothesized that trait expression and phenotypic selection on flowering phenology are related to soil temperature, and tested the hypothesis that temperature-driven differences in selection on phenology have resulted in genetic differentiation using a common garden experiment. In the field, phenology was related to soil temperature, with plants in warmer microsites flowering earlier than plants at colder microsites. In the common garden, plants responded to spring warming in a counter-gradient fashion; plants originating from warmer microsites flowered relatively later than those originating from colder microsites. A likely explanation for this pattern is that plants from colder microsites have been selected to compensate for the shorter growing season by starting development at lower temperatures. However, in our study we did not find evidence of variation in phenotypic selection on phenology in relation to temperature, but selection consistently favoured early flowering. Our results show that soil temperature influences trait expression and suggest the existence of genetically based variation in flowering phenology leading to counter-gradient local adaptation along a gradient of soil temperatures. An important implication of our results is that observed phenotypic responses of phenology to global warming might often be a combination of short-term plastic responses and long-term evolutionary responses, acting in different directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Valdés
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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24
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Inouye BD, Ehrlén J, Underwood N. Phenology as a process rather than an event: from individual reaction norms to community metrics. ECOL MONOGR 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Brian D. Inouye
- Biological Science Florida State University Tallahassee Florida 32306 USA
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Stockholm 106 91 Sweden
- Rocky Mountain Biological Lab Gothic Colorado 81224 USA
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Stockholm 106 91 Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research Stockholm University Stockholm 106 91 Sweden
| | - Nora Underwood
- Biological Science Florida State University Tallahassee Florida 32306 USA
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Stockholm 106 91 Sweden
- Rocky Mountain Biological Lab Gothic Colorado 81224 USA
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25
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Rubin MJ, Schmid KM, Friedman J. Assortative mating by flowering time and its effect on correlated traits in variable environments. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:471-481. [PMID: 30680129 PMCID: PMC6342113 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Revised: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Reproductive timing is a key life-history trait that impacts the pool of available mates, the environment experienced during flowering, and the expression of other traits through genetic covariation. Selection on phenology, and its consequences on other life-history traits, has considerable implications in the context of ongoing climate change and shifting growing seasons. To test this, we grew field-collected seed from the wildflower Mimulus guttatus in a greenhouse to assess the standing genetic variation for flowering time and covariation with other traits. We then created full-sib families through phenological assortative mating and grew offspring in three photoperiod treatments representing seasonal variation in daylength. We find substantial quantitative genetic variation for the onset of flowering time, which covaried with vegetative traits. The assortatively-mated offspring varied in their critical photoperiod by over two hours, so that families differed in their probability of flowering across treatments Allocation to flowering and vegetative growth changed across the daylength treatments, with consistent direction and magnitude of covariation among flowering time and other traits. Our results suggest that future studies of flowering time evolution should consider the joint evolution of correlated traits and shifting seasonal selection to understand how environmental variation influences life histories.
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26
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Valdés A, Ehrlén J. Caterpillar seed predators mediate shifts in selection on flowering phenology in their host plant. Ecology 2018; 98:228-238. [PMID: 28052392 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2016] [Revised: 10/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/17/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Variation in selection among populations and years has important implications for evolutionary trajectories of populations. Yet, the agents of selection causing this variation have rarely been identified. Selection on the time of reproduction within a season in plants might differ both among populations and among years, and selection can be mediated by both mutualists and antagonists. We investigated if differences in the direction of phenotypic selection on flowering phenology among 20 populations of Gentiana pneumonanthe during 2 yr were related to the presence of the butterfly seed predator Phengaris alcon, and if butterfly incidence was associated with the abundance of the butterfly's second host, Myrmica ants. In plant populations without the butterfly, phenotypic selection favored earlier flowering. In populations where the butterfly was present, caterpillars preferentially attacked early-flowering individuals, shifting the direction of selection to favoring later flowering. Butterfly incidence in plant populations increased with ant abundance. Our results demonstrate that antagonistic interactions can shift the direction of selection on flowering phenology, and suggest that such shifts might be associated with differences in the community context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Valdés
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
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27
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Serrato-Capuchina A, Matute DR. The Role of Transposable Elements in Speciation. Genes (Basel) 2018; 9:E254. [PMID: 29762547 PMCID: PMC5977194 DOI: 10.3390/genes9050254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2018] [Revised: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the phenotypic and molecular mechanisms that contribute to genetic diversity between and within species is fundamental in studying the evolution of species. In particular, identifying the interspecific differences that lead to the reduction or even cessation of gene flow between nascent species is one of the main goals of speciation genetic research. Transposable elements (TEs) are DNA sequences with the ability to move within genomes. TEs are ubiquitous throughout eukaryotic genomes and have been shown to alter regulatory networks, gene expression, and to rearrange genomes as a result of their transposition. However, no systematic effort has evaluated the role of TEs in speciation. We compiled the evidence for TEs as potential causes of reproductive isolation across a diversity of taxa. We find that TEs are often associated with hybrid defects that might preclude the fusion between species, but that the involvement of TEs in other barriers to gene flow different from postzygotic isolation is still relatively unknown. Finally, we list a series of guides and research avenues to disentangle the effects of TEs on the origin of new species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Serrato-Capuchina
- Biology Department, Genome Sciences Building, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA.
| | - Daniel R Matute
- Biology Department, Genome Sciences Building, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA.
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Segrestin J, Bernard‐Verdier M, Violle C, Richarte J, Navas M, Garnier E. When is the best time to flower and disperse? A comparative analysis of plant reproductive phenology in the Mediterranean. Funct Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jules Segrestin
- CEFECNRSUniversity of MontpellierUniversité Paul Valéry Montpellier 3EPHEIRD Montpellier Cedex 5 France
| | - Maud Bernard‐Verdier
- CEFECNRSUniversity of MontpellierUniversité Paul Valéry Montpellier 3EPHEIRD Montpellier Cedex 5 France
| | - Cyrille Violle
- CEFECNRSUniversity of MontpellierUniversité Paul Valéry Montpellier 3EPHEIRD Montpellier Cedex 5 France
| | - Jean Richarte
- CEFEMontpellier SupAgroCNRSUniversity of MontpellierUniversité Paul Valéry Montpellier 3EPHEIRD Montpellier France
| | - Marie‐Laure Navas
- CEFEMontpellier SupAgroCNRSUniversity of MontpellierUniversité Paul Valéry Montpellier 3EPHEIRD Montpellier France
| | - Eric Garnier
- CEFECNRSUniversity of MontpellierUniversité Paul Valéry Montpellier 3EPHEIRD Montpellier Cedex 5 France
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Abstract
Perennial grains are demonstrating a greater probability of occupying land currently dedicated to other agricultural production. Arable land that is currently in use for forage or annual crop production becomes utilized. Breeding materials for the introduction of perennial grains directly into the human food chain has required utilizing existing plant materials in the domestication of species or manufacturing diverse crosses to introduce perenniality into existing crops. In the domestication of intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium (Host), Barkworth and Dewey), existing forage cultivars or plant accessions were used to develop populations selected for grain production. A comparison of Cycle 3 materials from The Land Institute (TLI), Salina, KS, USA to USDA-Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) accessions took place under space-planted field conditions at Carman, MB, Canada from 2011 to 2014. One hundred plants (75 TLI and 25 GRIN identified in May 2012) were followed through three seed harvests cycles with phenological, morphological and agronomic traits measured throughout. Selection for seed productivity (TLI materials) reduced the importance of biomass plant−1 on seed yield plant−1, leading to an increase in harvest index. Principal component analysis demonstrated the separation of the germplasm sources and the differential impact of years on the performance of all accessions. Path coefficient analysis also indicated that plant biomass production was of less importance on seed yield plant−1 in the TLI materials. Analysis removing area plant−1 as a factor increased both the importance of biomass and heads on seed yield cm−2 in the TLI materials, especially in the first two seed production years. Plant differences due to selection appear to have reduced overall plant area and increased harvest index in the TLI materials, indicating progress for grain yield under selection. However, a greater understanding of the dynamics within a seed production field is needed to provide insight into the development of more effective selection criteria for long-term field level production.
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Zhao C, Xu W, Song X, Dai W, Dai L, Zhang Z, Qiang S. Early flowering and rapid grain filling determine early maturity and escape from harvesting in weedy rice. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2018; 74:465-476. [PMID: 28902454 DOI: 10.1002/ps.4730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2017] [Revised: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 09/08/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Early maturity is an important trait that is essential to the survival of weedy rice. To explore the mechanism of early maturity in weedy rice, the reproductive development of a large sample of weedy rice accessions and cultivars was compared in a common garden study. A selected sample of both weedy and cultivated rice was sown at different dates in two years to study in more detail their flowering and grain-filling patterns. RESULTS The weedy rice from three major cropping regions matured 7-8 days earlier than their associated cultivars. Representative weedy rice accessions planted on conventional sowing dates flowered 3-26 days earlier than cultivars; delayed sowing caused divergence in the flowering regimes in weedy rice. However, regardless of the sowing date, weedy rice filled its grain 7-21 days faster than cultivars in both study years. Vegetative and reproductive traits of weedy and cultivated rice have different patterns of variation with delayed planting. CONCLUSION Early maturity is an essential factor determining the persistence of weedy rice by contributing to the escape of its seed from being harvested with the rice crop. Both early flowering and shorter grain-filling stages determine early maturity, and flowering is more plastic than grain filling. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Can Zhao
- Weed Research Laboratory, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, P. R. China
| | - Wenrong Xu
- Weed Research Laboratory, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, P. R. China
| | - Xiaoling Song
- Weed Research Laboratory, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, P. R. China
| | - Weimin Dai
- Weed Research Laboratory, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, P. R. China
| | - Lei Dai
- Weed Research Laboratory, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, P. R. China
- College of Life Science and Technology, Henan Institute Science and Technology, Xinxiang, P. R. China
| | - Zheng Zhang
- Weed Research Laboratory, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, P. R. China
| | - Sheng Qiang
- Weed Research Laboratory, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, P. R. China
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Auge GA, Blair LK, Karediya A, Donohue K. The autonomous flowering-time pathway pleiotropically regulates seed germination in Arabidopsis thaliana. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2018; 121:183-191. [PMID: 29280995 PMCID: PMC5786223 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcx132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2017] [Accepted: 10/03/2017] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Background and Aims Two critical developmental transitions in plants are seed germination and flowering, and the timing of these transitions has strong fitness consequences. How genetically independent the regulation of these transitions is can influence the expression of life cycles. Method This study tested whether genes in the autonomous flowering-time pathway pleiotropically regulate flowering time and seed germination in the genetic model Arabidopsis thaliana, and tested whether the interactions among those genes are concordant between flowering and germination stages. Key Results Several autonomous-pathway genes promote flowering and impede germination. Moreover, the interactions among those genes were highly concordant between the regulation of flowering and germination. Conclusions Despite some degree of functional divergence between the regulation of flowering and germination by autonomous-pathway genes, the autonomous pathway is highly functionally conserved across life stages. Therefore, genes in the autonomous flowering-time pathway are likely to contribute to genetic correlations between flowering and seed germination, possibly contributing to the winter-annual life history.
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Lennartsson T, Ramula S, Tuomi J. Growing competitive or tolerant? Significance of apical dominance in the overcompensating herb Gentianella campestris. Ecology 2018; 99:259-269. [PMID: 29205298 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2017] [Revised: 10/25/2017] [Accepted: 11/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
As a compensatory response to herbivory, plants may branch vigorously when the growth of dormant meristems is triggered by shoot damage. Undamaged plants, on the other hand, often restrain branching, and this limitation on growth can be considered a cost of tolerance to herbivory. Restrained branching is caused by apical dominance and may, alternatively, be associated with fitness benefits in competitive environments that favor fast vertical growth. To test these hypotheses regarding selection for restrained branching, we compared the performance of two subspecies of the biennial grassland herb Gentianella campestris; the tall, apically dominant ssp. campestris and the short, multi-stemmed ssp. islandica, which shows reduced apical dominance. For both subspecies, we manipulated the height of surrounding vegetation (competition) and damage intensity in grasslands of differing productivity (high, medium, low), and examined population growth rates using matrix population models combined with life table response experiments. In the absence of damage, ssp. campestris exhibited a higher population growth rate than ssp. islandica in the tallest vegetation, however with the growth rate still being below one. In the medium and low productivity environments where the vegetation was shorter, the population growth rate of ssp. islandica was considerably higher than that of ssp. campestris as long as no more than about 50% of the plants were damaged. When plants were damaged, the apically dominant ssp. campestris showed a positive population growth rate (λ > 1) and often overcompensatory seed production in all productivity levels, while ssp. islandica showed no compensation and therefore the population was predicted to decline (λ < 1). We conclude that restrained branching in Gentianella cannot be selected for by competition alone, but that episodes of apical damage are required to maintain the trait. Furthermore, because of the costs of restrained branching, apical dominance should be selected against in grasslands where competition and disturbance are low.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommy Lennartsson
- Swedish Biodiversity Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7016, 75007, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Satu Ramula
- Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland
| | - Juha Tuomi
- Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland.,Department of Ecology, University of Oulu, Pentti Kaiteran katu 1, 90014, Oulu, Finland
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33
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Implications of earlier sea ice melt for phenological cascades in arctic marine food webs. FOOD WEBS 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2016.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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34
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Chen L, Zhang B, Li Q. Pollinator-mediated selection on flowering phenology and floral display in a distylous herb Primula alpicola. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13157. [PMID: 29030594 PMCID: PMC5640686 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13340-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2017] [Accepted: 09/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The targets and causes of phenotypic selection are crucial to understanding evolutionary ecology. However, few studies have examined selection quantitatively from multiple sources on the same trait identified the agent of natural selection experimentally. Here we quantified phenotypic selection on traits, including flowering phenology and aspects of floral display via female fitness, in the distylous perennial herb Primula alpicola. To determine the role of pollinators in generating selection effects on floral traits, we compared the phenotypic selection gradients in open-pollinated and hand-pollinated plants. Our results show that pollinator-mediated linear selection on flowering start and correlational selection on the number of flowers and scape height explains most of the net phenotypic selection on these traits suggesting pollinators played an important role in shaping floral diversity. We used path analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine how herbivores affected the relationship between floral traits and female fitness, but no significant selection was caused by seed predators. These results suggest pollinators, not herbivores maybe the significant agent of selection on flora traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingling Chen
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Science, Mengla, 666303, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 10049, China
| | - Bo Zhang
- College of Pratacultural Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, China
| | - Qingjun Li
- Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution Biology, State Key Laboratory in Conservation and Utilization of Bioresources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650091, China.
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35
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Auge GA, Blair LK, Neville H, Donohue K. Maternal vernalization and vernalization-pathway genes influence progeny seed germination. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2017; 216:388-400. [PMID: 28328177 DOI: 10.1111/nph.14520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2017] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Different life stages frequently respond to the same environmental cue to regulate development so that each life stage is matched to its appropriate season. We investigated how independently each life stage can respond to shared environmental cues, focusing on vernalization, in Arabidopsis thaliana plants. We first tested whether effects of rosette vernalization persisted to influence seed germination. To test whether genes in the vernalization flowering pathway also influence germination, we assessed germination of functional and nonfunctional alleles of these genes and measured their level of expression at different life stages in response to rosette vernalization. Rosette vernalization increased seed germination in diverse ecotypes. Genes in the vernalization flowering pathway also influenced seed germination. In the Columbia accession, functional alleles of most of these genes opposed the germination response observed in the ecotypes. Some genes influenced germination in a manner consistent with their known effects on FLOWERING LOCUS C gene regulation during the transition to flowering. Others did not, suggesting functional divergence across life stages. Despite persistent effects of environmental conditions across life stages, and despite pleiotropy of genes that affect both flowering and germination, the function of these genes can differ across life stages, potentially mitigating pleiotropic constraints and enabling independent environmental regulation of different life stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela A Auge
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Logan K Blair
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Hannah Neville
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Kathleen Donohue
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
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Taylor MA, Cooper MD, Sellamuthu R, Braun P, Migneault A, Browning A, Perry E, Schmitt J. Interacting effects of genetic variation for seed dormancy and flowering time on phenology, life history, and fitness of experimental Arabidopsis thaliana populations over multiple generations in the field. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2017; 216:291-302. [PMID: 28752957 DOI: 10.1111/nph.14712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2017] [Accepted: 06/19/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Major alleles for seed dormancy and flowering time are well studied, and can interact to influence seasonal timing and fitness within generations. However, little is known about how this interaction controls phenology, life history, and population fitness across multiple generations in natural seasonal environments. To examine how seed dormancy and flowering time shape annual plant life cycles over multiple generations, we established naturally dispersing populations of recombinant inbred lines of Arabidopsis thaliana segregating early and late alleles for seed dormancy and flowering time in a field experiment. We recorded seasonal phenology and fitness of each genotype over 2 yr and several generations. Strong seed dormancy suppressed mid-summer germination in both early- and late-flowering genetic backgrounds. Strong dormancy and late-flowering genotypes were both necessary to confer a winter annual life history; other genotypes were rapid-cycling. Strong dormancy increased within-season fecundity in an early-flowering background, but decreased it in a late-flowering background. However, there were no detectable differences among genotypes in population growth rates. Seasonal phenology, life history, and cohort fitness over multiple generations depend strongly upon interacting genetic variation for dormancy and flowering. However, similar population growth rates across generations suggest that different life cycle genotypes can coexist in natural populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Taylor
- University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | | | | | - Peter Braun
- Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
- California State University at San Bernardino, San Bernardino, CA, 92407, USA
| | | | | | - Emily Perry
- Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
| | - Johanna Schmitt
- University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
- Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
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37
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Wu Y, Li QJ. Phenotypic selection on flowering phenology and pollination efficiency traits between Primula populations with different pollinator assemblages. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:7599-7608. [PMID: 29043017 PMCID: PMC5632619 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2017] [Revised: 06/13/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Floral traits have largely been attributed to phenotypic selection in plant–pollinator interactions. However, the strength of this link has rarely been ascertained with real pollinators. We conducted pollinator observations and estimated selection through female fitness on flowering phenology and floral traits between two Primula secundiflora populations. We quantified pollinator‐mediated selection by subtracting estimates of selection gradients of plants receiving supplemental hand pollination from those of plants receiving open pollination. There was net directional selection for an earlier flowering start date at populations where the dominant pollinators were syrphid flies, and flowering phenology was also subjected to stabilized quadratic selection. However, a later flowering start date was significantly selected at populations where the dominant pollinators were legitimate (normal pollination through the corolla tube entrance) and illegitimate bumblebees (abnormal pollination through nectar robbing hole which located at the corolla tube), and flowering phenology was subjected to disruptive quadratic selection. Wider corolla tube entrance diameter was selected at both populations. Furthermore, the strength of net directional selection on flowering start date and corolla tube entrance diameter was stronger at the population where the dominant pollinators were syrphid flies. Pollinator‐mediated selection explained most of the between‐population variations in the net directional selection on flowering phenology and corolla tube entrance diameter. Our results suggested the important influence of pollinator‐mediated selection on floral evolution. Variations in pollinator assemblages not only resulted in variation in the direction of selection but also the strength of selection on floral traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Wu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Menglun, Mengla County China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Qing-Jun Li
- Laboratory of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan University Kunming China
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38
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Austen EJ, Rowe L, Stinchcombe JR, Forrest JRK. Explaining the apparent paradox of persistent selection for early flowering. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2017; 215:929-934. [PMID: 28418161 DOI: 10.1111/nph.14580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Decades of observation in natural plant populations have revealed pervasive phenotypic selection for early flowering onset. This consistent pattern seems at odds with life-history theory, which predicts stabilizing selection on age and size at reproduction. Why is selection for later flowering rare? Moreover, extensive evidence demonstrates that flowering time can and does evolve. What maintains ongoing directional selection for early flowering? Several non-mutually exclusive processes can help to reconcile the apparent paradox of selection for early flowering. We outline four: selection through other fitness components may counter observed fecundity selection for early flowering; asymmetry in the flowering-time-fitness function may make selection for later flowering hard to detect; flowering time and fitness may be condition-dependent; and selection on flowering duration is largely unaccounted for. In this Viewpoint, we develop these four mechanisms, and highlight areas where further study will improve our understanding of flowering-time evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily J Austen
- Biology Department, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Locke Rowe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S3B2, Canada
| | - John R Stinchcombe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S3B2, Canada
- Koffler Scientific Reserve at Joker's Hill, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, L7B 1K5, Canada
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Blair L, Auge G, Donohue K. Effect of FLOWERING LOCUS C on seed germination depends on dormancy. FUNCTIONAL PLANT BIOLOGY : FPB 2017; 44:493-506. [PMID: 32480582 DOI: 10.1071/fp16368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 12/28/2016] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) has a major regulatory role in the timing of flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. and has more recently been shown to influence germination. Here, we investigated the conditions under which FLC influences germination, and demonstrated that its effect depends on the level of primary and secondary dormancy and the temperature of seed imbibition. We tested the germination response of genotypes with different degrees of FLC activity over the course of after-ripening and after secondary dormancy induction by hot stratification. Genotypes with high FLC-activity showed higher germination; this response was greatest when seeds exhibited primary dormancy or were induced into secondary dormancy by hot stratification. In this study, which used less dormant seeds, the effect of FLC was more evident at 22°C, the less permissive germination temperature, than at 10°C, in contrast to prior published results that used more dormant seeds. Thus, because effects of FLC variation depend on dormancy, and because the range of temperature that permits germination also depends on dormancy, the temperature at which FLC affects germination can also vary with dormancy. Finally, we document that the effect of FLC can depend on FRIGIDA and that FRIGIDA itself appears to influence germination. Thus, pleiotropy between germination and flowering pathways in A. thaliana extends beyond FLC and involves other genes in the FLC genetic pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Logan Blair
- Duke University, Department of Biology, Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Gabriela Auge
- Duke University, Department of Biology, Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Kathleen Donohue
- Duke University, Department of Biology, Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708, USA
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40
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Fogelström E, Olofsson M, Posledovich D, Wiklund C, Dahlgren JP, Ehrlén J. Plant-herbivore synchrony and selection on plant flowering phenology. Ecology 2017; 98:703-711. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2016] [Revised: 10/24/2016] [Accepted: 11/29/2016] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Fogelström
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science; Stockholm University; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Martin Olofsson
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Diana Posledovich
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Christer Wiklund
- Department of Zoology; Stockholm University; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Johan P. Dahlgren
- Department of Biology; Max-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark; Campusvej 55 SE-106 91 Odense M Denmark
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science; Stockholm University; SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
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41
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van der Meer S, Jacquemyn H. The effect of phenological variation in sex expression on female reproductive success in Saxifraga granulata. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2015; 102:2116-2123. [PMID: 26656126 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1500324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2015] [Accepted: 10/22/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY Differences in timing of flowering within and among protandrous plants shift the floral sex ratio from male to female dominance during the flowering season. Hence, the number of seeds produced by a single flower depends on traits of the flower itself (e.g., allocation to male and female function, position within an inflorescence, and flower size), as well as plant traits (e.g., timing of flowering, number of flowers, and plant height). Although it is clear that characteristics of individual flowers and whole plants can affect the number of seeds produced per flower, their relative importance for plant fitness remains largely unknown. METHODS We examined how phenological sex expression affected seed number per flower in two populations of the protandrous grassland herb Saxifraga granulata. Seed number was assessed for >1200 flowers and related to their position within an inflorescence, male and female phase duration, timing of flowering, number of flowers per plant, and plant height. KEY RESULTS Seed number within and among plants decreased significantly over time. Early lateral flowers were larger and produced more seeds in comparison to late lateral flowers, indicating that flower position significantly affected seed number through its combined effect on sex allocation, timing of flowering, and attractiveness. CONCLUSIONS Our results showed that female reproductive success of a single flower was best explained by its position within an inflorescence and that plant traits such as first flowering date and number of flowers per plant had a smaller impact on seed number per flower.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sascha van der Meer
- KU Leuven, Biology Department, Plant Conservation and Population Biology, Kasteelpark Arenberg 31-bus 02435 B-3001, Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Hans Jacquemyn
- KU Leuven, Biology Department, Plant Conservation and Population Biology, Kasteelpark Arenberg 31-bus 02435 B-3001, Heverlee, Belgium
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Ehrlén J, Raabova J, Dahlgren JP. Flowering schedule in a perennial plant; life-history trade-offs, seed predation, and total offspring fitness. Ecology 2015; 96:2280-8. [PMID: 26405752 DOI: 10.1890/14-1860.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Optimal timing of reproduction within a season may be influenced by several abiotic and biotic factors. These factors sometimes affect different components of fitness, making assessments of net selection difficult. We used estimates of offspring fitness to examine how pre-dispersal seed predation influences selection on flowering schedule in an herb with a bimodal flowering pattern, Actaea spicata. Within individuals, seeds from flowers on early terminal inflorescences had a higher germination rate and produced larger seedlings than seeds from flowers on late basal inflorescences. Reproductive value, estimated using demographic integral projection models and accounting for size-dependent differences in future performance, was two times higher for intact seeds from early flowers than for seeds from late flowers. Fruits from late flowers were, however, much more likely to escape seed predation than fruits from early flowers. Reproductive values of early and late flowers balanced at a predation intensity of 63%. Across 15 natural populations, the strength of selection for allocation to late flowers was positively correlated with mean seed predation intensity. Our results suggest that the optimal shape of the flowering schedule, in terms of the allocation between early and late flowers, is determined by the trade-off between offspring number and quality, and that variation in antagonistic interactions among populations influences the balancing of this trade-off. At the same time they illustrate that phenotypic selection analyses that fail to account for differences in offspring fitness might be misleading.
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43
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Wadgymar SM, Cumming MN, Weis AE. The success of assisted colonization and assisted gene flow depends on phenology. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2015; 21:3786-3799. [PMID: 26033188 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2015] [Accepted: 04/29/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Global warming will jeopardize the persistence and genetic diversity of many species. Assisted colonization, or the movement of species beyond their current range boundary, is a conservation strategy proposed for species with limited dispersal abilities or adaptive potential. However, species that rely on photoperiodic and thermal cues for development may experience conflicting signals if transported across latitudes. Relocating multiple, distinct populations may remedy this quandary by expanding genetic variation and promoting evolutionary responses in the receiving habitat--a strategy known as assisted gene flow. To better inform these policies, we planted seeds from latitudinally distinct populations of the annual legume, Chamaecrista fasciculata, in a potential future colonization site north of its current range boundary. Plants were exposed to ambient or elevated temperatures via infrared heating. We monitored several life history traits and estimated patterns of natural selection to determine the adaptive value of plastic responses. To assess the feasibility of assisted gene flow between phenologically distinct populations, we counted flowers each day and estimated the degree of temporal isolation between populations. Increased temperatures advanced each successive phenological trait more than the last, resulting in a compressed life cycle for all but the southern-most population. Warming altered patterns of selection on flowering onset and vegetative biomass. Population performance was dependent on latitude of origin, with the northern-most population performing best under ambient conditions and the southern-most performing most poorly, even under elevated temperatures. Among-population differences in flowering phenology limited the potential for genetic exchange among the northern- and southern-most populations. All plastic responses to warming were neutral or adaptive; however, photoperiodic constraints will likely necessitate evolutionary responses for long-term persistence, especially when involving populations from disparate latitudes. With strategic planning, our results suggest that assisted colonization and assisted gene flow may be feasible options for preservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana M Wadgymar
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S3B9, Canada
| | - Matthew N Cumming
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S3B9, Canada
| | - Arthur E Weis
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S3B9, Canada
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44
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Austen EJ, Weis AE. What drives selection on flowering time? An experimental manipulation of the inherent correlation between genotype and environment. Evolution 2015; 69:2018-33. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2015] [Accepted: 06/09/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Emily J. Austen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Toronto; Toronto Ontario Canada M5S 3B2
- Department of Biology; Mount Allison University; Sackville New Brunswick Canada E4L 1E2
| | - Arthur E. Weis
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Toronto; Toronto Ontario Canada M5S 3B2
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45
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König MAE, Wiklund C, Ehrlén J. Timing of flowering and intensity of attack by a butterfly herbivore in a polyploid herb. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:1863-72. [PMID: 26140202 PMCID: PMC4485967 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2014] [Revised: 02/16/2015] [Accepted: 02/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Timing of plant development both determines the abiotic conditions that the plant experiences and strongly influences the intensity of interactions with other organisms. Plants and herbivores differ in their response to environmental cues, and spatial and temporal variation in environmental conditions might influence the synchrony between host plants and herbivores, and the intensity of their interactions. We investigated whether differences in first day of flowering among and within 21 populations of the polyploid herb Cardamine pratensis influenced the frequency of oviposition by the butterfly Anthocharis cardamines during four study years. The proportion of plants that became oviposited upon differed among populations, but these differences were not related to mean flowering phenology within the population in any of the four study years. Attack rates in the field were also not correlated with resistance to oviposition estimated under controlled conditions. Within populations, the frequency of butterfly attack was higher in early-flowering individuals in two of the four study years, while there was no significant relationship in the other 2 years. Larger plants were more likely to become oviposited upon in all 4 years. The effects of first flowering day and size on the frequency of butterfly attack did not differ among populations. The results suggest that differences in attack intensities among populations are driven mainly by differences in the environmental context of populations while mean differences in plant traits play a minor role. The fact that within populations timing of flowering influenced the frequency of herbivore attack only in some years and suggests that herbivore-mediated selection on plant phenology differs among years, possibly because plants and herbivores respond differently to environmental cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin A E König
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University Stockholm, SE106 91, Sweden
| | - Christer Wiklund
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University Stockholm, SE106 91, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University Stockholm, SE106 91, Sweden
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46
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Johansson J, Nilsson JÅ, Jonzén N. Phenological change and ecological interactions: an introduction. OIKOS 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.02077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Johansson
- Dept of Biology; Ecology Building, Lund Univ.; SE-22362 Lund Sweden
| | - Jan-Åke Nilsson
- Dept of Biology; Ecology Building, Lund Univ.; SE-22362 Lund Sweden
| | - Niclas Jonzén
- Dept of Biology; Ecology Building, Lund Univ.; SE-22362 Lund Sweden
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47
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Johansson J, Kristensen NP, Nilsson JÅ, Jonzén N. The eco-evolutionary consequences of interspecific phenological asynchrony - a theoretical perspective. OIKOS 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.01909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Johansson
- Dept of Biology, Ecology Building; Lund Univ.; SE-22362 Lund Sweden
| | | | - Jan-Åke Nilsson
- Dept of Biology, Ecology Building; Lund Univ.; SE-22362 Lund Sweden
| | - Niclas Jonzén
- Dept of Biology, Ecology Building; Lund Univ.; SE-22362 Lund Sweden
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