scholarly journals Can phenology and plasticity prevent adaptive clines in tolerance limits across temperate mountains?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Gutiérrez-Pesquera ◽  
Miguel Tejedo ◽  
Agustin Camacho ◽  
Urtzi Enríquez-Urzelai ◽  
Marco Katzenberger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Breeding Phenology ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Thermal Limits ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Heat And Cold Stress ◽  
Critical Thermal Limits

Critical thermal limits (CTmax and CTmin) are predicted to decrease with elevation, with greater change in CTmin, and the risk to suffer heat and cold stress increasing at the gradient ends. A central prediction is that populations will adapt to the prevailing climatic conditions. Yet, reliable support for such expectation is scant because of the complexity of integrating phenotypic and molecular divergence. We propose that phenotypic plasticity and breeding phenology may hinder local adaptation cancelling the appearance of adaptive patterns. We examined intraspecific variation of CTmax/CTmin in 11 populations of an amphibian across an elevational gradient, and assessed (1) the existence of local adaptation through a PST-FST comparison, (2) the acclimation scope in both thermal limits, and (3) the vulnerability to suffer acute heat (CTmax–tmax) and cold (tmin–CTmin) thermal stress, measured at both macro- and microclimatic scales. Our study revealed significant microgeographic variation in CTmax/CTmin, and unexpected elevation gradients in pond temperatures. However, variation in CTmax/CTmin could not be attributed to selection because critical thermal limits were not correlated to elevation or temperatures. Differences in breeding phenology among populations resulted in exposure to higher and more variable temperatures at mid and high elevations. Accordingly, mid- and high-elevation populations had higher CTmax and CTmin plasticities than lowland populations, but not more extreme CTmax/CTmin. Thus, we confirm our prediction that plasticity and phenological shifts may hinder local adaptation, promoting thermal niche conservatism and a higher vulnerability to climate change. This contradicts some of the existing predictions on adaptive thermal clines.

scholarly journals Complex landscape topography can facilitate local adaptation during a range shift

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert N. Fitt ◽  
Lesley T. Lancaster
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
Niche Differentiation ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Range Shift ◽  
Landscape Complexity ◽  
Topographic Complexity ◽  
Complex Landscape

Warming climates provide many species the opportunity to colonise newly-suitable regions at higher latitudes and elevations. Despite becoming warmer, higher latitudes and elevations nevertheless offer novel climatic challenges, such as greater thermal variability and altered frequency of weather events, and these challenges exert selection on expanding populations. However, high gene flow and genetic drift during the expansion phase may limit the degree to which species can adapt to novel climatic conditions at the range front. Here we examine how landscape topographic complexity influences the opportunity for local adaptation to novel conditions during a range shift. Using RAD-seq data, we investigated whether elevation, latitude, climatic niche differentiation, and gene flow across a complex landscape were associated with signatures of adaptation during recent range expansion of the damselfly Ischnura elegans in Northeast Scotland. Our data revealed two distinct routes of colonisation, with admixture between these routes resulting in increased heterozygosity and population density. Expansion rates, assessed as directional rates of gene flow, were greater between more climatically similar sites than between climatically divergent sites. Significant genetic structure and allelic turnover was found to emerge near the range front at sites characterised by high elevation, low directional gene flow, and high spatial differentiation in climate regimes. This predictive combination of factors suggests that landscape complexity may be a prerequisite for promoting differentiation of populations, and providing opportunities for local adaptation, during rapid or contemporary range shifts.

scholarly journals Complex landscape topography can facilitate local adaptation during a range shift

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert N. Fitt ◽  
Lesley T. Lancaster
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
Niche Differentiation ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Range Shift ◽  
Landscape Complexity ◽  
Topographic Complexity ◽  
Complex Landscape

Warming climates provide many species the opportunity to colonise newly-suitable regions at higher latitudes and elevations. Despite becoming warmer, higher latitudes and elevations nevertheless offer novel climatic challenges, such as greater thermal variability and altered frequency of weather events, and these challenges exert selection on expanding populations. However, high gene flow and genetic drift during the expansion phase may limit the degree to which species can adapt to novel climatic conditions at the range front. Here we examine how landscape topographic complexity influences the opportunity for local adaptation to novel conditions during a range shift. Using RAD-seq data, we investigated whether elevation, latitude, climatic niche differentiation, and gene flow across a complex landscape were associated with signatures of adaptation during recent range expansion of the damselfly Ischnura elegans in Northeast Scotland. Our data revealed two distinct routes of colonisation, with admixture between these routes resulting in increased heterozygosity and population density. Expansion rates, assessed as directional rates of gene flow, were greater between more climatically similar sites than between climatically divergent sites. Significant genetic structure and allelic turnover was found to emerge near the range front at sites characterised by high elevation, low directional gene flow, and high spatial differentiation in climate regimes. This predictive combination of factors suggests that landscape complexity may be a prerequisite for promoting differentiation of populations, and providing opportunities for local adaptation, during rapid or contemporary range shifts.

scholarly journals Crypsis Decreases with Elevation in a Lizard

Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda ◽  
Laureano G. González-Granda ◽  
Senda Reguera ◽  
Francisco J. Zamora-Camacho ◽  
Elena Melero
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Dorsal Skin ◽  
Se Spain ◽  
Psammodromus Algirus ◽  
Selection For ◽  
High Elevations

Predation usually selects for visual crypsis, the colour matching between an animal and its background. Geographic co-variation between animal and background colourations is well known, but how crypsis varies along elevational gradients remains unknown. We predict that dorsal colouration in the lizard Psammodromus algirus should covary with the colour of bare soil—where this lizard is mainly found—along a 2200 m elevational gradient in Sierra Nevada (SE Spain). Moreover, we predict that crypsis should decrease with elevation for two reasons: (1) Predation pressure typically decreases with elevation, and (2) at high elevation, dorsal colouration is under conflicting selection for both crypsis and thermoregulation. By means of standardised photographies of the substratum and colourimetric measurements of lizard dorsal skin, we tested the colour matching between lizard dorsum and background. We found that, along the gradient, lizard dorsal colouration covaried with the colouration of bare soil, but not with other background elements where the lizard is rarely detected. Moreover, supporting our prediction, the degree of crypsis against bare soil decreased with elevation. Hence, our findings suggest local adaptation for crypsis in this lizard along an elevational gradient, but this local adaptation would be hindered at high elevations.

scholarly journals Influence of environmental factors on the genetic variation of the aquatic macrophyte Ranunculus subrigidus on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhigang Wu ◽  
Xinwei Xu ◽  
Juan Zhang ◽  
Gerhard Wiegleb ◽  
Hongwei Hou
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Aquatic Macrophyte ◽  
Spatial Genetic Structure ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Mantel Tests ◽  
Genetic Patterns

Abstract Background Due to the environmental heterogeneity along elevation gradients, alpine ecosystems are ideal study objects for investigating how ecological variables shape the genetic patterns of natural species. The highest region in the world, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, is a hotspot for the studies of evolutionary processes in plants. Many large rivers spring from the plateau, providing abundant habitats for aquatic and amphibious organisms. In the present study, we examined the genetic diversity of 13 Ranunculus subrigidus populations distributed throughout the plateau in order to elucidate the relative contribution of geographic distance and environmental dissimilarity to the spatial genetic pattern. Results A relatively low level of genetic diversity within populations was found. No spatial genetic structure was suggested by the analyses of molecular variance, Bayesian clustering analysis and Mantel tests. Partial Mantel tests and multiple matrix regression analysis showed a significant influence of the environment on the genetic divergence of the species. Both climatic and water quality variables contribute to the habitat heterogeneity of R. subrigidus populations. Conclusions Our results suggest that historical processes involving long-distance dispersal and local adaptation may account for the genetic patterns of R. subrigidus and current environmental factors play an important role in the genetic differentiation and local adaptation of aquatic plants in alpine landscapes.

scholarly journals Male fertility thermal limits predict vulnerability to climate warming

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda van Heerwaarden ◽  
Carla M. Sgrò
Keyword(s):  
Climate Warming ◽  
Experimental Evolution ◽  
Male Fertility ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Tropical Species ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Thermal Limits ◽  
Critical Thermal Limits

AbstractForecasting which species/ecosystems are most vulnerable to climate warming is essential to guide conservation strategies to minimize extinction. Tropical/mid-latitude species are predicted to be most at risk as they live close to their upper critical thermal limits (CTLs). However, these assessments assume that upper CTL estimates, such as CTmax, are accurate predictors of vulnerability and ignore the potential for evolution to ameliorate temperature increases. Here, we use experimental evolution to assess extinction risk and adaptation in tropical and widespread Drosophila species. We find tropical species succumb to extinction before widespread species. Male fertility thermal limits, which are much lower than CTmax, are better predictors of species’ current distributions and extinction in the laboratory. We find little evidence of adaptive responses to warming in any species. These results suggest that species are living closer to their upper thermal limits than currently presumed and evolution/plasticity are unlikely to rescue populations from extinction.

scholarly journals High turn-over rates at the upper range limit and elevational source-sink dynamics in a widespread songbird

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin U. Grüebler ◽  
Johann von Hirschheydt ◽  
Fränzi Korner-Nievergelt
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Apparent Survival ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Mobile Species ◽  
Source Sink ◽  
Turn Over ◽  
High Elevations

AbstractThe formation of an upper distributional range limit for species breeding along mountain slopes is often based on environmental gradients resulting in changing demographic rates towards high elevations. However, we still lack an empirical understanding of how the interplay of demographic parameters forms the upper range limit in highly mobile species. Here, we study apparent survival and within-study area dispersal over a 700 m elevational gradient in barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) by using 15 years of capture-mark-recapture data. Annual apparent survival of adult breeding birds decreased while breeding dispersal probability of adult females, but not males increased towards the upper range limit. Individuals at high elevations dispersed to farms situated at elevations lower than would be expected by random dispersal. These results suggest higher turn-over rates of breeding individuals at high elevations, an elevational increase in immigration and thus, within-population source-sink dynamics between low and high elevations. The formation of the upper range limit therefore is based on preference for low-elevation breeding sites and immigration to high elevations. Thus, shifts of the upper range limit are not only affected by changes in the quality of high-elevation habitats but also by factors affecting the number of immigrants produced at low elevations.

scholarly journals Scale-Dependent Effects of Growth Stage and Elevational Gradient on Rice Phyllosphere Bacterial and Fungal Microbial Patterns in the Terrace Field

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei Wang ◽  
Jianping Dai ◽  
Luyun Luo ◽  
Yong Liu ◽  
Decai Jin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Growth Stage ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Fungal Communities ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Α Diversity ◽  
Phyllosphere Bacteria

The variation of phyllosphere bacterial and fungal communities along elevation gradients may provide a potential link with temperature, which corresponds to an elevation over short geographic distances. At the same time, the plant growth stage is also an important factor affecting phyllosphere microorganisms. Understanding microbiological diversity over changes in elevation and among plant growth stages is important for developing crop growth ecological theories. Thus, we investigated variations in the composition of the rice phyllosphere bacterial and fungal communities at five sites along an elevation gradient from 580 to 980 m above sea level (asl) in the Ziquejie Mountain at the seedling, heading, and mature stages, using high-throughput Illumina sequencing methods. The results revealed that the dominant bacterial phyla were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, and the dominant fungal phyla were Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, which varied significantly at different elevation sites and growth stages. Elevation had a greater effect on the α diversity of phyllosphere bacteria than on that phyllosphere fungi. Meanwhile, the growth stage had a great effect on the α diversity of both phyllosphere bacteria and fungi. Our results also showed that the composition of bacterial and fungal communities varied significantly along elevation within the different growth stages, in terms of both changes in the relative abundance of species, and that the variations in bacterial and fungal composition were well correlated with variations in the average elevation. A total of 18 bacterial and 24 fungal genera were significantly correlated with elevational gradient, displaying large differences at the various growth stages. Soluble protein (SP) shared a strong positive correlation with bacterial and fungal communities (p < 0.05) and had a strong significant negative correlation with Serratia, Passalora, unclassified_Trichosphaeriales, and antioxidant enzymes (R > 0.5, p < 0.05), and significant positive correlation with the fungal genera Xylaria, Gibberella, and Penicillium (R > 0.5, p < 0.05). Therefore, it suggests that elevation and growth stage might alter both the diversity and abundance of phyllosphere bacterial and fungal populations.

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