Genetic diversity, phenotypic variation and local adaptation in the alpine landscape : case studies with alpine plant species
Plant survival in alpine landscapes is constantly challenged by the harsh and often unpredictable environmental conditions. Steep environmental gradients and patchy distribution of habitats lead to small size and spatial isolation of populations and restrict gene flow. Agricultural land use has furt...
Published in: | Botanica Helvetica |
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Birkhäuser
2009
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Online Access: | http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A5251037 https://edoc.unibas.ch/8269/ https://doi.org/10.1007/s00035-009-0065-1 |
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ftunivbasel:oai:edoc.unibas.ch:8269 2023-05-15T18:01:39+02:00 Genetic diversity, phenotypic variation and local adaptation in the alpine landscape : case studies with alpine plant species Stöcklin, Jürg Kuss, Patrick Pluess, Andrea R. 2009 http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A5251037 https://edoc.unibas.ch/8269/ https://doi.org/10.1007/s00035-009-0065-1 unknown Birkhäuser Stöcklin, Jürg and Kuss, Patrick and Pluess, Andrea R. (2009) Genetic diversity, phenotypic variation and local adaptation in the alpine landscape : case studies with alpine plant species. Botanica Helvetica, 119 (2). pp. 125-133. doi:10.1007/s00035-009-0065-1 urn:ISSN:0253-1453 urn:ISSN:1420-9063 info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess Article PeerReviewed 2009 ftunivbasel https://doi.org/10.1007/s00035-009-0065-1 2023-03-05T06:50:04Z Plant survival in alpine landscapes is constantly challenged by the harsh and often unpredictable environmental conditions. Steep environmental gradients and patchy distribution of habitats lead to small size and spatial isolation of populations and restrict gene flow. Agricultural land use has further increased the diversity of habitats below and above the treeline. We studied the consequences of the highly structured alpine landscape for evolutionary processes in four study plants: Epilobium fleischeri, Geum reptans, Campanula thyrsoides and Poa alpina. The main questions were: (1) How is genetic diversity distributed within and among populations and is it affected by altitude, population size or land use? (2) Do reproductive traits such as allocation to sexual or vegetative reproduction vary with altitude or land use. Furthermore, we studied if seed weight is increasing with altitude. Within-population genetic diversity of the four species was high and mostly not related to altitude and population size. Nevertheless, genetic differentiation among population was pronounced and strongly increasing with distance. In Poa alpina genetic diversity was affected by land use. Results suggest considerable genetic drift among populations of alpine plants. Reproductive allocation was affected by altitude and land use in Poa alpina and by succession in Geum reptans. Seed weight is usually higher if alpine species are compared with species from the lowland. We conclude, that the evolutionary potential to respond to global change is mostly intact in alpine plants, even at high altitude. Phenotypic variability is shaped by adaptive as well as by random evolutionary processes; moreover plastic responses to growth conditions seem to be crucial for survival of plants in the alpine landscape. Article in Journal/Newspaper Poa alpina University of Basel: edoc Botanica Helvetica 119 2 125 133 |
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University of Basel: edoc |
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ftunivbasel |
language |
unknown |
description |
Plant survival in alpine landscapes is constantly challenged by the harsh and often unpredictable environmental conditions. Steep environmental gradients and patchy distribution of habitats lead to small size and spatial isolation of populations and restrict gene flow. Agricultural land use has further increased the diversity of habitats below and above the treeline. We studied the consequences of the highly structured alpine landscape for evolutionary processes in four study plants: Epilobium fleischeri, Geum reptans, Campanula thyrsoides and Poa alpina. The main questions were: (1) How is genetic diversity distributed within and among populations and is it affected by altitude, population size or land use? (2) Do reproductive traits such as allocation to sexual or vegetative reproduction vary with altitude or land use. Furthermore, we studied if seed weight is increasing with altitude. Within-population genetic diversity of the four species was high and mostly not related to altitude and population size. Nevertheless, genetic differentiation among population was pronounced and strongly increasing with distance. In Poa alpina genetic diversity was affected by land use. Results suggest considerable genetic drift among populations of alpine plants. Reproductive allocation was affected by altitude and land use in Poa alpina and by succession in Geum reptans. Seed weight is usually higher if alpine species are compared with species from the lowland. We conclude, that the evolutionary potential to respond to global change is mostly intact in alpine plants, even at high altitude. Phenotypic variability is shaped by adaptive as well as by random evolutionary processes; moreover plastic responses to growth conditions seem to be crucial for survival of plants in the alpine landscape. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Stöcklin, Jürg Kuss, Patrick Pluess, Andrea R. |
spellingShingle |
Stöcklin, Jürg Kuss, Patrick Pluess, Andrea R. Genetic diversity, phenotypic variation and local adaptation in the alpine landscape : case studies with alpine plant species |
author_facet |
Stöcklin, Jürg Kuss, Patrick Pluess, Andrea R. |
author_sort |
Stöcklin, Jürg |
title |
Genetic diversity, phenotypic variation and local adaptation in the alpine landscape : case studies with alpine plant species |
title_short |
Genetic diversity, phenotypic variation and local adaptation in the alpine landscape : case studies with alpine plant species |
title_full |
Genetic diversity, phenotypic variation and local adaptation in the alpine landscape : case studies with alpine plant species |
title_fullStr |
Genetic diversity, phenotypic variation and local adaptation in the alpine landscape : case studies with alpine plant species |
title_full_unstemmed |
Genetic diversity, phenotypic variation and local adaptation in the alpine landscape : case studies with alpine plant species |
title_sort |
genetic diversity, phenotypic variation and local adaptation in the alpine landscape : case studies with alpine plant species |
publisher |
Birkhäuser |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A5251037 https://edoc.unibas.ch/8269/ https://doi.org/10.1007/s00035-009-0065-1 |
genre |
Poa alpina |
genre_facet |
Poa alpina |
op_relation |
Stöcklin, Jürg and Kuss, Patrick and Pluess, Andrea R. (2009) Genetic diversity, phenotypic variation and local adaptation in the alpine landscape : case studies with alpine plant species. Botanica Helvetica, 119 (2). pp. 125-133. doi:10.1007/s00035-009-0065-1 urn:ISSN:0253-1453 urn:ISSN:1420-9063 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00035-009-0065-1 |
container_title |
Botanica Helvetica |
container_volume |
119 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
125 |
op_container_end_page |
133 |
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1766171150431289344 |