A test of local adaptation to drought in germination and seedling traits in populations of two alpine forbs across a 2000 mm/year precipitation gradient
Abstract Seed regeneration is a critical stage in the life histories of plants, affecting species' abilities to maintain local populations, evolve, and disperse to new sites. In this study, we test for local adaptations to drought in germination and seedling growth of two alpine forbs with cont...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9772 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.9772 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.9772 |
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crwiley:10.1002/ece3.9772 2024-06-02T08:14:23+00:00 A test of local adaptation to drought in germination and seedling traits in populations of two alpine forbs across a 2000 mm/year precipitation gradient Gya, Ragnhild Geange, Sonya Rita Lynn, Joshua Scott Töpper, Joachim Paul Wallevik, Øystein Zernichow, Camilla Vandvik, Vigdis Norges Forskningsråd 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9772 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.9772 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.9772 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecology and Evolution volume 13, issue 2 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 journal-article 2023 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9772 2024-05-03T11:39:29Z Abstract Seed regeneration is a critical stage in the life histories of plants, affecting species' abilities to maintain local populations, evolve, and disperse to new sites. In this study, we test for local adaptations to drought in germination and seedling growth of two alpine forbs with contrasting habitat preferences: the alpine generalist Veronica alpina and the snowbed specialist Sibbaldia procumbens . We sampled seeds of each species from four populations spanning a precipitation gradient from 1200 to 3400 mm/year in western Norway. In a growth chamber experiment, we germinated seeds from each population at 10 different water potentials under controlled light and temperature conditions. Drought led to lower germination percentage in both species, and additionally, slower germination, and more investment in roots for V. alpina. These responses varied along the precipitation gradient. Seeds from the driest populations had higher germination percentage, shorter time to germination, and higher investments in the roots under drought conditions than the seeds from the wettest populations – suggesting local adaption to drought. The snowbed specialist, S. procumbens , had lower germination percentages under drought, but otherwise did not respond to drought in ways that indicate physiological or morphological adaptions to drought. S. procumbens germination also did not vary systematically with precipitation of the source site, but heavier‐seeded populations germinated to higher rates and tolerated drought better. Our study is the first to test drought effects on seed regeneration in alpine plants populations from high‐precipitation regions. We found evidence that germination and seedling traits may show adaptation to drought even in populations from wet habitats. Our results also indicate that alpine generalists might be more adapted to drought and show more local adaptations in drought responses than snowbed specialists. Article in Journal/Newspaper Sibbaldia procumbens Wiley Online Library Norway Ecology and Evolution 13 2 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Seed regeneration is a critical stage in the life histories of plants, affecting species' abilities to maintain local populations, evolve, and disperse to new sites. In this study, we test for local adaptations to drought in germination and seedling growth of two alpine forbs with contrasting habitat preferences: the alpine generalist Veronica alpina and the snowbed specialist Sibbaldia procumbens . We sampled seeds of each species from four populations spanning a precipitation gradient from 1200 to 3400 mm/year in western Norway. In a growth chamber experiment, we germinated seeds from each population at 10 different water potentials under controlled light and temperature conditions. Drought led to lower germination percentage in both species, and additionally, slower germination, and more investment in roots for V. alpina. These responses varied along the precipitation gradient. Seeds from the driest populations had higher germination percentage, shorter time to germination, and higher investments in the roots under drought conditions than the seeds from the wettest populations – suggesting local adaption to drought. The snowbed specialist, S. procumbens , had lower germination percentages under drought, but otherwise did not respond to drought in ways that indicate physiological or morphological adaptions to drought. S. procumbens germination also did not vary systematically with precipitation of the source site, but heavier‐seeded populations germinated to higher rates and tolerated drought better. Our study is the first to test drought effects on seed regeneration in alpine plants populations from high‐precipitation regions. We found evidence that germination and seedling traits may show adaptation to drought even in populations from wet habitats. Our results also indicate that alpine generalists might be more adapted to drought and show more local adaptations in drought responses than snowbed specialists. |
author2 |
Norges Forskningsråd |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gya, Ragnhild Geange, Sonya Rita Lynn, Joshua Scott Töpper, Joachim Paul Wallevik, Øystein Zernichow, Camilla Vandvik, Vigdis |
spellingShingle |
Gya, Ragnhild Geange, Sonya Rita Lynn, Joshua Scott Töpper, Joachim Paul Wallevik, Øystein Zernichow, Camilla Vandvik, Vigdis A test of local adaptation to drought in germination and seedling traits in populations of two alpine forbs across a 2000 mm/year precipitation gradient |
author_facet |
Gya, Ragnhild Geange, Sonya Rita Lynn, Joshua Scott Töpper, Joachim Paul Wallevik, Øystein Zernichow, Camilla Vandvik, Vigdis |
author_sort |
Gya, Ragnhild |
title |
A test of local adaptation to drought in germination and seedling traits in populations of two alpine forbs across a 2000 mm/year precipitation gradient |
title_short |
A test of local adaptation to drought in germination and seedling traits in populations of two alpine forbs across a 2000 mm/year precipitation gradient |
title_full |
A test of local adaptation to drought in germination and seedling traits in populations of two alpine forbs across a 2000 mm/year precipitation gradient |
title_fullStr |
A test of local adaptation to drought in germination and seedling traits in populations of two alpine forbs across a 2000 mm/year precipitation gradient |
title_full_unstemmed |
A test of local adaptation to drought in germination and seedling traits in populations of two alpine forbs across a 2000 mm/year precipitation gradient |
title_sort |
test of local adaptation to drought in germination and seedling traits in populations of two alpine forbs across a 2000 mm/year precipitation gradient |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9772 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.9772 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.9772 |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Sibbaldia procumbens |
genre_facet |
Sibbaldia procumbens |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution volume 13, issue 2 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9772 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
2 |
_version_ |
1800738213857329152 |