Trait variation between and within Andes and coastal mountain ranges in the iconic South American tree Araucaria araucana in Chile

As global commitments to restoration are underway, science is needed to support capacity to achieve meaningful gains for ecosystems and human communities. In Chile, identification and generation of appropriate plant material is a barrier to achieving major restoration goals under the Paris Climate Agreement. Understanding genetic differentiation among plant populations is needed to maximize restoration success. For Araucaria araucana, a highly threatened iconic South American tree, this information is greatly needed to guide restoration and conservation efforts because this species occurs across a strong climate gradient. We grew seedlings from 12 populations of A. araucana across its range in Chile in a common garden to assess regional (coastal versus Andes mountain ranges) and population variation in key plant traits and relate this variation to environmental variables. We demonstrate that A. araucana is differentiated within regions and populations across its range in Chile by a suite of traits, particularly branch number and length (showing plant architectural differences) and needle width (showing leaf investment differences). We show that this variation is at least partly explained by climate and soil variables, with the most variation explained by differences between regions in temperature annual range. Thus, we recommend that restoration efforts focus on conserving genetic variation among and within regions and their populations and preventing the translocations of genotypes between coastal and Andes populations.

Download Full-text

Between-population variation in plant performance traits and elemental composition of Colchicum autumnale L. and its relation to edaphic environments

Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae ◽

10.5586/asbp.2008.029 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 77 (3) ◽

pp. 229-239 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lucyna Mróz

Keyword(s):

Soil Ph ◽

Leaf Shape ◽

Organic Matter Content ◽

Soil Samples ◽

Population Variation ◽

Plant Performance ◽

Colchicum Autumnale ◽

Soil Variables ◽

Performance Traits ◽

Variation Explained

Variation in vegetative and reproductive performance and leaf mineral composition among 25 populations of <em>Colchicum autumnale</em> (meadow saffron) from soils derived from six parent materials (limestone, marl, sandstone, greenstone, melaphyre and serpentine) in southwestern Poland has been investigated. The plant size (PS), total le-af area (TLA), leaf shape (LS), number of fruits per plant (NFP), number of seeds per plant (NFP), total weight seed per plant (TWSP) were estimated, and concentrations of seventeen elements (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, S, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni, Co, Cr, Mo) were analyzed in leaf and soil samples. In soil samples, also soil pH, organic matter content and sand, silt and clay content were determined. All soils (except melaphyre soil) contained elevated levels of Cr. Concentrations of soil Ni and Zn, Pb, Cd in serpentinite soil and polluted marl soils (respectively) were significantly higher than those of other examined soils. Meadow saffron leaves from all sites (except marl sites) contained elevated levels of Cr, Co and Ni. Statistical analysis, carried out with principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that a good correlation exists between the element content in leaves and plant performance traits and soil environment. The leaf Ca content and NFP were correlated and were much higher in populations from metal (except Cr) and nutrient-poor marl soils than in those from metal (except Ni in serpentine soil)and nutrient moderate rich soils derived from melaphyre, greenstones, serpentinite, limestones and sandstones and in those from metal-rich and nutrient-poor polluted marl soils. Meadow saffron plants tended to take up higher amounts of N, P, K, Mn, Cu and Na and lower amounts of S and had much higher TLA in populations from sandstone soils than those in populations from serpentinite, melaphyre, greenstone, marl and limestone soils. The leaf Co, Ni, Cr, Mg concentrations were correlated and were much higher in populations from serpentinite, melaphyre, greenstone, polluted marl and limestone soils than those from marl and sandstone soils. The pattern of variation in NFP and TLA across the different soil types was the opposite of that for leaf N, Cu, Na, Ni, Mg and S concentrations. Redundancy analysis (RDA) enables identification of the soil variables that best explain the variance pattern of plant response. The variation explained by the soil variables (15 soil elements and soil pH) was high (79%). The forward selection of soil variables identified soil Co, Mo, Ni, Ca and Zn concentrations as significantly influencing the ordination plant traits. The variation explained by these selected variables was 55%. Thus the five soil variables appeared to be the main factors determining the pattern variation of vegetative, reproductive and nutrient traits of <em>Colchicum autumnale</em>.

Download Full-text

A quantitative genetic study of starvation resistance at different geographic scales in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster

Genetics Research ◽

10.1017/s0016672310000327 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 92 (4) ◽

pp. 253-259 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

JULIETA GOENAGA ◽

JUAN JOSÉ FANARA ◽

ESTEBAN HASSON

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Food Shortage ◽

Population Variation ◽

Phenotypic Variance ◽

Starvation Resistance ◽

Natural Genetic Variation ◽

Quantitative Genetic ◽

Variation Explained

SummaryFood shortage is a stress factor that commonly affects organisms in nature. Resistance to food shortage or starvation resistance (SR) is a complex quantitative trait with direct implications on fitness. However, surveys of natural genetic variation in SR at different geographic scales are scarce. Here, we have measured variation in SR in sets of lines derived from nine natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster collected in western Argentina. Our study shows that within population variation explained a larger proportion of overall phenotypic variance (80%) than among populations (7·2%). We also noticed that an important fraction of variation was sex-specific. Overall females were more resistant to starvation than males; however, the magnitude of the sexual dimorphism (SD) in SR varied among lines and explained a significant fraction of phenotypic variance in all populations. Estimates of cross-sex genetic correlations suggest that the genetic architecture of SR is only partially shared between sexes in the populations examined, thus, facilitating further evolution of the SD.

Download Full-text

The Relations of Great Britain with Guiana

Transactions of the Royal Historical Society ◽

10.2307/3678425 ◽

1923 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 1-21

Author(s):

G. C. Edmundson

Keyword(s):

Sixteenth Century ◽

South American ◽

American Continent ◽

The South ◽

Mountain Ranges ◽

North East ◽

The North ◽

Terra Incognita ◽

Rio Negro ◽

South American Continent

Guiana, in the larger sense of the word, is that portion of the South American continent bounded on the north and north-east by the ocean; on the south, south-west and west by the river Amazon, its tributary the Rio Negro, the river Cassiquiare, which unites the river Negro to the river Orinoco, and by the river Orinoco itself. It is thus an island; as there is no break in the water-line that surrounds it. This larger Guiana is, however, divided into two distinct portions, separated from one another by a series of mountain ranges stretching from the Orinoco to the river Oyapok. That portion, which lies between these mountain ranges and the sea, differs entirely in character from the Guiana of the watersheds of the Amazon and Orinoco. It consists of a succession of tablelands, rising one above the other, and is watered by a large number of nearly parallel rivers, whose cataracts and frequent rapids render navigation into the interior, except by canoes, practically impossible. In this Guiana, the Guiana with which this paper deals, there have never been any Spanish or Portuguese settlements. At the end of the sixteenth century no attempt had been made by the Spaniards to cross the river Orinoco, or by the Portuguese, to reach the mouth of the river Amazon. Between these two rivers lay a terra incognita, of which nothing was known, until the publication of Ralegh's Discoverie of Guiana in 1595.

Download Full-text

Intraspecific variability of some functional traits of Trigonocaryum involucratum (Steven) Medw., a caucasus endemic plant

Botanica Serbica ◽

10.2298/botserb2002129m ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 129-136

Author(s):

Ramazan Murtazaliev ◽

Dzhalaludin Anatov ◽

Jana Ekhvaia ◽

Ziyarat Guseinova ◽

Ketevan Batsatsashvili

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Plant Traits ◽

Linear Regression Analysis ◽

Elevation Gradient ◽

Seed Mass ◽

Intraspecific Variability ◽

Population Variation ◽

Endemic Plant ◽

High Solar Radiation ◽

Shoot Number

Plant traits have been used to predict species and community responses to environmental gradients. We studied variation of leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), flowering shoot number and seed mass along an elevation gradient in the case of Trigonocaryum involucratum, a scree-growing plant endemic to the Caucasus ecoregion. The study had two major aims: (1) to compare the role of intra-population and inter-population variation of functional trait values; and (2) to ascertain dependence between elevation and trait values and their variation. We collected trait data in several populations in Dagestan (Russian Federation), where the species has about a 1000-m amplitude of elevational distribution. The intraspecific variability of trait values was assessed via standard statistical tools (one-way ANOVA and linear regression analysis). The trait values mostly have high inter-population variation (more than 90% for each of the trait values compared to intra-population variation of each trait), indicating adaptation of populations to site conditions. Much higher intra- vs. inter-population variation in SLA at subnival elevations indicates local micro-site diversity and may serve as a buffer against future stress related to climate change. All the trait values negatively but significantly correlate (weakly or moderately) with elevation. Negative correlation presumably shows a certain increase in the limiting effect of the elevation gradient associated with changes in temperature, soil nutrient availability and soil water content, as well as with high solar radiation. More evidence from a broader study of the species throughout its distribution range is needed for firmer conclusions about the intraspecific variability of T. involucratum.

Download Full-text

Population divergence in aggregation and sheltering behaviour in surface and cave-adapted Asellus aquaticus (Crustacea: Isopoda)

10.32942/osf.io/ge6wb ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Gergely Horváth ◽

Sára Sarolta Sztruhala ◽

Gergely Balázs ◽

Gábor Herczeg

Keyword(s):

Habitat Type ◽

Common Garden ◽

Population Variation ◽

Population Divergence ◽

Behavioural Plasticity ◽

Asellus Aquaticus ◽

Risk Of Predation ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Cave Environment ◽

Laboratory Procedures

Aggregation (gathering together) and sheltering (hiding in cover) are basic behaviours that might reduce the risk of predation. However, both behaviours have costs, like increased competition over resources and high prevalence of contact-spread parasites (aggregation) or lost opportunities for foraging and mating (sheltering). Therefore, adaptive variation in these behaviours is expected between populations with varying levels of predation risk. We compared aggregation and sheltering in surface- (various predators) and cave-adapted (no predator) populations of the Isopod Asellus aquaticus in a common garden experiment. Since the cave environment is constantly dark, we also tested for population variation in light-induced behavioural plasticity by applying light treatments. Variation in sheltering was explained by habitat type: cave individuals sheltered less than surface individuals. We found high between-population variation in aggregation with or without shelters and their light-induced plasticity, which were unexplained by habitat type. Cave individuals habituated (decreased sheltering), while surface individuals showed sensitization (increased sheltering). We suggest that population variation in sheltering is driven by predation, while variation in aggregation must be driven by other, unaccounted environmental factors, similarly to light-induced behavioural plasticity. Based on habituation/sensitization patterns, we suggest that predation-adapted populations are more sensitive to disturbance related to standard laboratory procedures.

Download Full-text

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

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2019.117858 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 460 ◽

pp. 117858

Author(s):

V.G. Duboscq-Carra ◽

J.A. Arias-Rios ◽

V.A. El Mujtar ◽

P. Marchelli ◽

M.J. Pastorino

Keyword(s):

Natural Populations ◽

Common Garden ◽

South American

Download Full-text

Genetic variation in five populations of strawberry clover (Trifolium fragiferum cv. Palestine) in Western Australia

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1071/ea04154 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 45 (11) ◽

pp. 1445 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

K. S. McDonald ◽

P. S. Cocks ◽

M. A. Ewing

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Total Variation ◽

Western Australia ◽

Principal Components ◽

Plant Traits ◽

Population Variation ◽

Field Station ◽

The North ◽

Perennial Legume ◽

The University

Genetic variation within and among populations of an outcrossing stoloniferous perennial legume, strawberry clover (Trifolium fragiferum L.), was studied using seed collected from 5 different locations in Western Australia. The sites ranged from Badgingarra to the north of the wheatbelt to Karridale in the southwest of the state. Seed was collected randomly at each site and was grown out at the University of Western Australia Field Station at Shenton Park, Perth. Thirteen morphological plant traits were measured and analysed. Results show that within-population variation was extremely high. In contrast, among-population variation was generally low with most characters showing only 8–15% of the total variation. Despite this, all but 1 of the measured plant traits differed among populations. Principal components analysis highlighted the large amount of variation within the populations with the first 3 principal components accounting for only 59% of the total variation. We suggest that the populations have begun to differentiate into ecotypes more suited to those habitats into which they have been sown but that within-population variation remains high due to the outcrossing nature of strawberry clover.

Download Full-text

Genecology and seed zones for tapertip onion in the US Great Basin

Botany ◽

10.1139/cjb-2013-0046 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 91 (10) ◽

pp. 686-694 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

R.C. Johnson ◽

Barbara C. Hellier ◽

Ken W. Vance-Borland

Keyword(s):

Great Basin ◽

Plant Traits ◽

Principal Component ◽

Common Garden ◽

The United States ◽

Production Traits ◽

Seed Transfer ◽

Common Gardens ◽

Seed Zones ◽

Surrounding Areas

The choice of germplasm is critical for sustainable restoration, yet seed transfer guidelines are lacking for all but a few herbaceous species. Seed transfer zones based on genetic variability and climate were developed using tapertip onion (Allium acuminatum Hook.) collected in the Great Basin and surrounding areas in the United States. Bulbs from 53 locations were established at two common garden sites and morphological (such as leaf and scape dimensions), phenological (such as bolting date and flowering), and production traits (such as emergence and seeds per plant) were measured. Differences among source locations for plant traits within both common gardens were strong (P < 0.001), indicating genetic variation. Principal component 1 (PC 1) for phenological traits, with R2 = 0.59, and PC 1 for production traits, with R2 = 0.65, were consistently correlated with annual, maximum, minimum, and average temperature, annual precipitation, and frost-free days at source locations (P < 0.05). Regression of PC 1 phenology and PC 1 production scores with source location climates resulted in models with R2 values of 0.73 and 0.52, respectively. Using a geographic information system, maps of these models were overlaid to develop proposed seed zones to guide the choice of germplasm for conservation and restoration of tapertip onion across the collection region.

Download Full-text

Path Analysis of the Correlation between Fruit Number and Plant Traits of Cucumber Populations

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.35.4.708 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 35 (4) ◽

pp. 708-711 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Christopher S. Cramer ◽

Todd C. Wehner

Keyword(s):

Yield Components ◽

Recurrent Selection ◽

Plant Traits ◽

Fruit Yield ◽

Branch Number ◽

Fruit Number ◽

Path Coefficients ◽

Yield And Yield Components ◽

Selection For ◽

Number Of Branches

The relationships between fruit yield and yield components in several cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) populations were investigated as well as how those relationships changed with selection for improved fruit yield. In addition, the correlations between fruit yield and yield components were partitioned into partial regression coefficients (path coefficients and indirect effects). Eight genetically distinct pickling and slicing cucumber populations, differing in fruit yield and quality, were previously subjected to modified half-sib family recurrent selection. Eight families from three selection cycles (early, intermediate, late) of each population were evaluated for yield components and fruit number per plant in four replications in each of two testing methods, seasons, and years. Since no statistical test for comparing the magnitudes of two correlations was available, a correlation (r) of 0.7 to 1.0 or –0.7 to –1.0 (r2 ≥ 0.49) was considered strong, while a correlation of –0.69 to 0.69 was considered weak. The number of branches per plant had a direct positive effect on, and was correlated (r = 0.7) with the number of total fruit per plant over all populations, cycles, seasons, years, plant densities, and replications. The number of nodes per branch, the percentage of pistillate nodes, and the percentage of fruit set were less correlated (r < |0.7|) with total fruit number per plant (fruit yield) than the number of branches per plant. Weak correlations between yield components and fruit yield often resulted from weak correlations among yield components. The correlations among fruit number traits were generally strong and positive (r ≥ 0.7). Recurrent selection for improved fruit number per plant maintained weak path coefficients and correlations between yield components and total fruit number per plant. Selection also maintained weak correlations among yield components. However, the correlations and path coefficients of branch number per plant on the total fruit number became more positive (r = 0.67, 0.75, and 0.82 for early, intermediate, and late cycles, respectively) with selection. Future breeding should focus on selecting for the number of branches per plant to improve total fruit number per plant.

Download Full-text

Diversity-induced plant history and soil history effects modulate plant responses to global change

10.1101/2021.10.06.463388 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Peter Dietrich ◽

Jens Schumacher ◽

Nico Eisenhauer ◽

Christiane Roscher

Keyword(s):

Global Change ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Plant Traits ◽

Common Garden ◽

Nitrogen Addition ◽

Plant Responses ◽

Growth Strategies ◽

History Effects ◽

History Of ◽

High Diversity

AbstractGlobal change has dramatic impacts on grassland diversity. However, little is known about how fast species can adapt to these changes and how this affects their responses to global change. To close this gap, we performed a common garden experiment testing whether plant responses to global change are influenced by the selection history of the plants and the conditioning history of soil at different levels of plant diversity. Therefore, we collected seeds and took soil samples from 14-year old plant communities of a biodiversity experiment. Offspring of plants from low- and high-diversity communities were either grown in their own soil or in soil of a different community, and were either exposed to drought, increased nitrogen input, or a combination of both. Results show that, under nitrogen addition, offspring of plants selected at high diversity produced more biomass than those selected at low diversity, while drought neutralized differences in biomass production. Moreover, under the influence of global change drivers, mainly soil, and to a lesser extent plant history, influenced the expression of plant traits. Our results show that plant diversity modulates plant-soil interactions and growth strategies of plants, which feedback on the eco-evolutionary pathways of the plants and thus their responses to global change.

Download Full-text