Differentiation in phenology among and within natural populations of a South American Nothofagus revealed by a two-year evaluation in a common garden trial

Abstract Fuchsia parviflora is a dioecious shrub that depends on biotic pollination for reproduction. Previous studies suggest that the male plants produce more flowers, and male-biased sex ratios have been found in some natural populations. To assess whether the biased sex ratios found between genders in natural populations are present at the point at which plants reach sexual maturity, and to identify possible trade-offs between growth and reproduction, we performed a common garden experiment. Finally, to complement the information of the common garden experiment, we estimated the reproductive biomass allocation between genders in one natural population. Sex ratios at reaching sexual maturity in F. parviflora did not differ from 0.5, except in one population, which was the smallest seedling population. We found no differences between genders in terms of the probability of germination or flowering. When flowering began, female plants were taller than males and the tallest plants of both genders required more time to reach sexual maturity. Males produced significantly more flowers than females, and the number of flowers increased with plant height in both genders. Finally, in the natural population studied, the investment in reproductive biomass was seven-fold greater in female plants than in male plants. Our results showed no evidence of possible trade-offs between growth and reproduction. Despite the fact that female plants invest more in reproductive biomass, they were taller than the males after flowering, possibly at the expense of herbivory defence.

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Evolutionary inference from QST-FST comparisons: disentangling local adaptation from altitudinal gradient selection in snapdragon plants

10.1101/385377 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sara Marin ◽

Juliette Archambeau ◽

Vincent Bonhomme ◽

Mylène Lascoste ◽

Benoit Pujol

Keyword(s):

Local Adaptation ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Common Garden ◽

Global Scale ◽

Structured Populations ◽

Adaptive Divergence ◽

Adaptation To Climate Change ◽

Phenotypic Differentiation ◽

Multiple Populations ◽

Environmental Demand

ABSTRACTPhenotypic differentiation among natural populations can be explained by natural selection or by neutral processes such as drift. There are many examples in the literature where comparing the effects of these processes on multiple populations has allowed the detection of local adaptation. However, these studies rarely identify the agents of selection. Whether population adaptive divergence is caused by local features of the environment, or by the environmental demand emerging at a more global scale, for example along altitudinal gradients, is a question that remains poorly investigated. Here, we measured neutral genetic (FST) and quantitative genetic (QST) differentiation among 13 populations of snapdragon plants (Antirrhinum majus) in a common garden experiment. We found low but significant genetic differentiation at putatively neutral markers, which supports the hypothesis of either ongoing pervasive homogenisation via gene flow between diverged populations or reproductive isolation between disconnected populations. Our results also support the hypothesis of local adaptation involving phenological, morphological, reproductive and functional traits. They also showed that phenotypic differentiation increased with altitude for traits reflecting the reproduction and the phenology of plants, thereby confirming the role of such traits in their adaptation to environmental differences associated with altitude. Our approach allowed us to identify candidate traits for the adaptation to climate change in snapdragon plants. Our findings imply that environmental conditions changing with altitude, such as the climatic envelope, influenced the adaptation of multiple populations of snapdragon plants on the top of their adaptation to local environmental features. They also have implications for the study of adaptive evolution in structured populations because they highlight the need to disentangle the adaptation of plant populations to climate envelopes and altitude from the confounding effects of selective pressures acting specifically at the local scale of a population.

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Morphological abnormalities in natural populations of the common South American toad Rhinella arenarum inhabiting fluoride-rich environments

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety ◽

10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.03.098 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 177 ◽

pp. 32-38

Author(s):

Favio Pollo ◽

Clarisa Bionda ◽

Manuel Otero ◽

Pablo Grenat ◽

Selene Babini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Natural Populations ◽

South American ◽

American Toad ◽

Morphological Abnormalities ◽

The Common ◽

Rhinella Arenarum

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Anomalous colour in Neotropical mammals: a review with new records for Didelphis sp. (Didelphidae, Didelphimorphia) and Arctocephalus australis (Otariidae, Carnivora)

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/s1519-69842013000100020 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 73 (1) ◽

pp. 185-194 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

MSL. Abreu ◽

R. Machado ◽

F. Barbieri ◽

NS. Freitas ◽

LR. Oliveira

Keyword(s):

New Records ◽

Natural Populations ◽

South American ◽

Southern Brazil ◽

Wild Populations ◽

Terrestrial Mammals ◽

Animal Survival ◽

Fur Seal ◽

Neotropical Mammals ◽

Males And Females

Anomalous colourations occur in many tropical vertebrates. However, they are considered rare in wild populations, with very few records for the majority of animal taxa. We report two new cases of anomalous colouration in mammals. Additionally, we compiled all published cases about anomalous pigmentation registered in Neotropical mammals, throughout a comprehensive review of peer reviewed articles between 1950 and 2010. Every record was classified as albinism, leucism, piebaldism or eventually as undetermined pigmentation. As results, we report the new record of a leucistic specimen of opossum (Didelphis sp.) in southern Brazil, as well as a specimen of South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) with piebaldism in Uruguay. We also found 31 scientific articles resulting in 23 records of albinism, 12 of leucism, 71 of piebaldism and 92 records classified as undetermined pigmentation. Anomalous colouration is apparently rare in small terrestrial mammals, but it is much more common in cetaceans and michrochiropterans. Out of these 198 records, 149 occurred in cetaceans and 30 in bats. The results related to cetaceans suggest that males and females with anomolous pigmentation are reproductively successful and as a consequence their frequencies are becoming higher in natural populations. In bats, this result can be related to the fact these animals orient themselves primarily through echolocation, and their refuges provide protection against light and predation. It is possible that anomalous colouration occurs more frequently in other Neotropical mammal orders, which were not formally reported. Therefore, we encourage researchers to publish these events in order to better understand this phenomenon that has a significant influence on animal survival.

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Morphological and isozyme variation in Cerastium arvense (Caryophyllaceae) in the southern Andes

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b02-064 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 80 (7) ◽

pp. 786-795 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

María Paula Quiroga ◽

Andrea C Premoli ◽

Cecilia Ezcurra

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Common Garden ◽

High Elevation ◽

Genetic Differences ◽

Restricted Gene Flow ◽

Common Garden Experiment ◽

Southern Andes ◽

Isozyme Electrophoresis ◽

Ecotypic Variation

We tested the hypothesis that South Andean populations of the highly polymorphic and mostly Northern Hemisphere perennial forb Cerastium arvense L. show ecotypic variation along distinct habitats. We compared differences in morphology and flowering phenology among six natural populations occurring in different environments. Genetic differences were analyzed by a common-garden experiment and isozyme electrophoresis. Several of the morphological differences observed in the field were maintained after more than a year of cultivation in the common garden (e.g., plant height and leaf width). Mean tests and multivariate analyses on morphological traits generally distinguished high-elevation populations from the rest, and a similar grouping of populations was obtained from isozyme data at 10 loci. Cerastium arvense had genetic polymorphism levels of >50% in all populations and an average genetic diversity (HT = 0.254) of which approximately 20% was distributed among populations. These marked genetic differences are probably maintained by restricted gene flow due to variation in flowering time. Morphological and genetic differences suggest ecotypic variation in C. arvense in the southern Andes, which seems to have originated by disruptive selective pressures in different environments and the effect of genetic drift in response to the extreme climatic changes occurring during the Pleistocene.Key words: common-garden experiment, ecotypic variation, elevation and precipitation, genetic diversity, Patagonian Andes, phenology.

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SSR Markers for Analysing South American Nothofagus Species

Silvae Genetica ◽

10.1515/sg-2004-0043 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 53 (1-6) ◽

pp. 240-243 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

M. M. Azpilicueta ◽

H. Caron ◽

C. Bodénès ◽

L. A. Gallo

Keyword(s):

Gene Flow ◽

Genetic Mapping ◽

Microsatellite Markers ◽

Ssr Markers ◽

Natural Populations ◽

South American ◽

Sample Sizes ◽

Polymorphic Ssrs ◽

The Cross ◽

Qualitative Confirmation

Summary11 newly discovered microsatellites were used to identify SSR markers for characterising South American Nothofagus species. This was carried out in six species. The sample sizes used were between four and six individuals per species. The cross-genera transferability of 34 Quercus SSRs was also essayed. Out of the 11 new microsatellite markers, three proved to be polymorphic (NnBIO 11, NgBIO 13 and NgBIO 14). The qualitative confirmation of the inheritance of these markers could also be verified. Polymorphism was also observed in five of the cross-genera transferred SSRs (QrBIO7, quru-GA-0A01, quru-GA-0C11, quru-GA-0I01, quru-GA-0M07). The number of alleles per locus found range between 1 and 6 per species. The eight polymorphic SSRs identified in this study will constitute a valuable tool in the gene flow studies that are currently being carried out in natural populations of South American Nothofagus species. The confirmation of crossspecies and cross-genera transferability opens the way for the use of SSRs as bridge markers in genetic mapping.

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Developmental stability of Iris pumila flower traits: A common garden experiment

Archives of Biological Sciences ◽

10.2298/abs1201123m ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 64 (1) ◽

pp. 123-133 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Danijela Miljkovic

Keyword(s):

Light Intensity ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Common Garden ◽

Developmental Stability ◽

Common Garden Experiment ◽

Habitat Types ◽

Significant Treatment ◽

Flower Traits ◽

Population Interaction ◽

The Given

I. pumila natural populations usually occur in two different habitat types: dune and forest. These I. pumila habitats differ in many abiotic environmental factors, but mostly in available light intensity and quality. The effects of different light intensity on the developmental stability of I. pumila floral traits were analyzed on clones taken from two different natural light habitat types that were raised in contrasting light treatments in experimental garden conditions (common garden experiment). As an indicator of developmental stability, we used two fluctuating asymmetry indices (FA1 and FA8a) of three bilateral symmetric traits of I. pumila flower (FW-fall width, SW-standard width and STW- style branch width). In addition, statistically significant treatment x population interaction was observed for style width. According to the presented results, the observed FA patterns of particular traits did not reflect the whole organism buffering capacity under the given environmental conditions.

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Population structure and historical demography of South American sea lions provide insights into the catastrophic decline of a marine mammal population

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.160291 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (7) ◽

pp. 160291 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

J. I. Hoffman ◽

G. J. Kowalski ◽

A. Klimova ◽

L. J. Eberhart-Phillips ◽

I. J. Staniland ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Population Structure ◽

Large Scale ◽

Conservation Management ◽

Population Decline ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Hypervariable Region ◽

Baseline Data ◽

South American ◽

The South ◽

Demographic Bottleneck

Understanding the causes of population decline is crucial for conservation management. We therefore used genetic analysis both to provide baseline data on population structure and to evaluate hypotheses for the catastrophic decline of the South American sea lion ( Otaria flavescens ) at the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) in the South Atlantic. We genotyped 259 animals from 23 colonies across the Falklands at 281 bp of the mitochondrial hypervariable region and 22 microsatellites. A weak signature of population structure was detected, genetic diversity was moderately high in comparison with other pinniped species, and no evidence was found for the decline being associated with a strong demographic bottleneck. By combining our mitochondrial data with published sequences from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru, we also uncovered strong maternally directed population structure across the geographical range of the species. In particular, very few shared haplotypes were found between the Falklands and South America, and this was reflected in correspondingly low migration rate estimates. These findings do not support the prominent hypothesis that the decline was caused by migration to Argentina, where large-scale commercial harvesting operations claimed over half a million animals. Thus, our study not only provides baseline data for conservation management but also reveals the potential for genetic studies to shed light upon long-standing questions pertaining to the history and fate of natural populations.

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Differences in physiological integration between invasive and noninvasive introduced clonal species of Carpobrotus

Journal of Plant Ecology ◽

10.1093/jpe/rtz035 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 972-981 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sergio R Roiloa ◽

Peter Alpert ◽

Rodolfo Barreiro

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Division Of Labor ◽

Clonal Growth ◽

Sand Dunes ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Common Garden ◽

Clonal Plants ◽

Physiological Integration ◽

Shoot Mass ◽

Clonal Species

Abstract Aims Clonal growth is associated with invasiveness in introduced plant species, but few studies have compared invasive and noninvasive introduced clonal species to investigate which clonal traits may underlie invasiveness. To test the hypothesis that greater capacity to increase clonal growth via physiological integration of connected ramets increases invasiveness in clonal plants, we compared the effects of severing connections on accumulation of mass in the two species of the creeping, succulent, perennial, herbaceous genus Carpobrotus that have been introduced on sand dunes along the Pacific Coast of northern California, the highly invasive species Carpobrotus edulis and the co-occurring, noninvasive species Carpobrotus chilensis. Methods Pairs of ramets from four mixed populations of the species from California were grown in a common garden for 3 months with and without severing the stem connecting the ramets. To simulate the effect of clones on soils in natural populations, the older ramet was grown in sand amended with potting compost and the younger in sand alone. Important Findings Severance decreased net growth in mass by ~60% in C. edulis and ~100% in C. chilensis, due mainly to the negative effect of severance on the shoot mass of the younger ramet within a pair. Contrary to the hypothesis, this suggests that physiological integration increases growth more in the less invasive species. However, severance also decreased allocation of mass to roots in the older ramet and increased it in the younger ramet in a pair, and the effect on the younger ramet was about twice as great in C. edulis as in C. chilensis. This indicates that the more invasive species shows greater phenotypic plasticity in response to physiological integration, in particular greater capacity for division of labor. This could contribute to greater long-term growth and suggests that the division of labor may be a trait that underlies the association between clonal growth and invasiveness in plants.

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