Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Global gradients in intraspecific variation in vegetative and floral traits are partially associated with climate and species richness

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kuppler, J; Albert, CH; Ames, GM; Armbruster, WS; Boenisch, G; Boucher, FC; Campbell, DR; Carneiro, LT; Chacón-Madrigal, E; Enquist, BJ ...
Published in: Global Ecology and Biogeography
June 1, 2020

Aim: Intraspecific trait variation (ITV) within natural plant communities can be large, influencing local ecological processes and dynamics. Here, we shed light on how ITV in vegetative and floral traits responds to large-scale abiotic and biotic gradients (i.e., climate and species richness). Specifically, we tested whether associations of ITV with temperature, precipitation and species richness were consistent with any of four hypotheses relating to stress tolerance and competition. Furthermore, we estimated the degree of correlation between ITV in vegetative and floral traits and how they vary along the gradients. Location: Global. Time period: 1975–2016. Major taxa studied: Herbaceous and woody plants. Methods: We compiled a dataset of 18,401 measurements of the absolute extent of ITV (measured as the coefficient of variation) in nine vegetative and seven floral traits from 2,822 herbaceous and woody species at 2,372 locations. Results: Large-scale associations between ITV and climate were trait specific and more prominent for vegetative traits, especially leaf morphology, than for floral traits. The ITV showed pronounced associations with climate, with lower ITV values in colder areas and higher values in drier areas. The associations of ITV with species richness were inconsistent across traits. Species-specific associations across gradients were often idiosyncratic, and covariation in ITV was weaker between vegetative and floral traits than within the two trait groups. Main conclusions: Our results show that, depending on the traits considered, ITV either increased or decreased with climate stress and species richness, suggesting that both factors can constrain or enhance ITV, which might foster plant-population persistence in stressful conditions. Given the species-specific responses and covariation in ITV, associations can be hard to predict for traits and species not yet studied. We conclude that consideration of ITV can improve our understanding of how plants cope with stressful conditions and environmental change across spatial and biological scales.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Global Ecology and Biogeography

DOI

EISSN

1466-8238

ISSN

1466-822X

Publication Date

June 1, 2020

Volume

29

Issue

6

Start / End Page

992 / 1007

Related Subject Headings

  • Ecology
  • 4104 Environmental management
  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0501 Ecological Applications
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Kuppler, J., Albert, C. H., Ames, G. M., Armbruster, W. S., Boenisch, G., Boucher, F. C., … Junker, R. R. (2020). Global gradients in intraspecific variation in vegetative and floral traits are partially associated with climate and species richness. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 29(6), 992–1007. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13077
Kuppler, J., C. H. Albert, G. M. Ames, W. S. Armbruster, G. Boenisch, F. C. Boucher, D. R. Campbell, et al. “Global gradients in intraspecific variation in vegetative and floral traits are partially associated with climate and species richness.” Global Ecology and Biogeography 29, no. 6 (June 1, 2020): 992–1007. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13077.
Kuppler J, Albert CH, Ames GM, Armbruster WS, Boenisch G, Boucher FC, et al. Global gradients in intraspecific variation in vegetative and floral traits are partially associated with climate and species richness. Global Ecology and Biogeography. 2020 Jun 1;29(6):992–1007.
Kuppler, J., et al. “Global gradients in intraspecific variation in vegetative and floral traits are partially associated with climate and species richness.” Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 29, no. 6, June 2020, pp. 992–1007. Scopus, doi:10.1111/geb.13077.
Kuppler J, Albert CH, Ames GM, Armbruster WS, Boenisch G, Boucher FC, Campbell DR, Carneiro LT, Chacón-Madrigal E, Enquist BJ, Fonseca CR, Gómez JM, Guisan A, Higuchi P, Karger DN, Kattge J, Kleyer M, Kraft NJB, Larue-Kontić AAC, Lázaro A, Lechleitner M, Loughnan D, Minden V, Niinemets Ü, Overbeck GE, Parachnowitsch AL, Perfectti F, Pillar VD, Schellenberger Costa D, Sletvold N, Stang M, Alves-dos-Santos I, Streit H, Wright J, Zych M, Junker RR. Global gradients in intraspecific variation in vegetative and floral traits are partially associated with climate and species richness. Global Ecology and Biogeography. 2020 Jun 1;29(6):992–1007.
Journal cover image

Published In

Global Ecology and Biogeography

DOI

EISSN

1466-8238

ISSN

1466-822X

Publication Date

June 1, 2020

Volume

29

Issue

6

Start / End Page

992 / 1007

Related Subject Headings

  • Ecology
  • 4104 Environmental management
  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0501 Ecological Applications
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience