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Local adaptation and plasticity of Erysimum capitatum to altitude: Its implications for responses to climate change

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kim, E; Donohue, K
Published in: Journal of Ecology
May 1, 2013

Alpine plants are at high risk because of climate change. Assessing the performance of alpine plant species across different altitudes is useful for predicting how they may respond to changing climate. Adaptation and plasticity of early life stages are of particular interest since seed germination and seedling establishment could be crucial life-history stages for environmental tracking and population persistence of sexually reproducing plants. To evaluate past adaptation and the potential to accommodate future climate conditions, seeds and seedlings of Erysimum capitatum were reciprocally transplanted between alpine and low-altitude sites. When grown in a common field environment, E. capitatum from alpine and lower-altitude populations differed from each other in germination, size and morphological traits. Planting altitude also influenced those traits, indicating that population differentiation and plasticity to altitudinal conditions both contributed to differences in the performance of high- vs. low-altitude plants. Seeds tended to germinate more in their native habitat than in the foreign habitat. Alpine plants survived more than low-altitude plants at high altitude, and they suffered higher mortality when they were planted in low-altitude sites. The production of multiple rosettes, a characteristic morphology of alpine E. capitatum, was negatively associated with survival at low altitude. In contrast to alpine populations, a survival advantage of low-altitude populations in low-altitude sites was not evident in this experiment. Synthesis. Because climate change is projected to cause alpine environments to become more similar to low-altitude environments, alpine Erysimum capitatum is expected to suffer reduced seedling recruitment and higher mortality as a direct response to altered environment and possibly as a result of past adaptation to high altitude. In particular, the production of multiple rosettes, an adaptive trait to the current alpine environment, would constrain plant survival should those environments come to resemble low altitude. Moreover, the limited fitness advantage of low-altitude E. capitatum in low-altitude conditions suggests that environmental tracking by low-altitude populations might have a limited role in maintaining future populations. As an effort to predict how alpine plant species may respond to climate change, we examined local adaptation and plasticity to altitude using Erysimum capitatum-a mustard that occurs in a broad altitudinal range. The results imply that alpine E. capitatum would suffer reduced seedling recruitment and higher mortality as a direct response to altered environment and possibly as a result of past adaptation to high altitude. In addition, environmental tracking by low-altitude populations is predicted to have a limited role in maintaining future populations. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Ecology © 2013 British Ecological Society.

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Published In

Journal of Ecology

DOI

EISSN

1365-2745

ISSN

0022-0477

Publication Date

May 1, 2013

Volume

101

Issue

3

Start / End Page

796 / 805

Related Subject Headings

  • Ecology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
  • 05 Environmental Sciences
 

Citation

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Kim, E., & Donohue, K. (2013). Local adaptation and plasticity of Erysimum capitatum to altitude: Its implications for responses to climate change. Journal of Ecology, 101(3), 796–805. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12077
Kim, E., and K. Donohue. “Local adaptation and plasticity of Erysimum capitatum to altitude: Its implications for responses to climate change.” Journal of Ecology 101, no. 3 (May 1, 2013): 796–805. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12077.
Kim, E., and K. Donohue. “Local adaptation and plasticity of Erysimum capitatum to altitude: Its implications for responses to climate change.” Journal of Ecology, vol. 101, no. 3, May 2013, pp. 796–805. Scopus, doi:10.1111/1365-2745.12077.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of Ecology

DOI

EISSN

1365-2745

ISSN

0022-0477

Publication Date

May 1, 2013

Volume

101

Issue

3

Start / End Page

796 / 805

Related Subject Headings

  • Ecology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
  • 05 Environmental Sciences