Plasticity of functional traits varies clinally along a rainfall gradient in Eucalyptus tricarpa |
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Authors: | ELIZABETH H MCLEAN SUZANNE M PROBER WILLIAM D STOCK DOROTHY A STEANE BRAD M POTTS RENÉ E VAILLANCOURT MARGARET BYRNE |
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Institution: | 1. Science Division, Department of Parks and Wildlife, , Western Australia, 6983 Australia;2. CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, , Wembley, Western Australia, 6913 Australia;3. Centre for Ecosystem Management, School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, , Western Australia, Australia;4. School of Plant Science and National Centre for Future Forest Industries, University of Tasmania, , Australia;5. Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, , Queensland, Australia |
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Abstract: | Widespread species often occur across a range of climatic conditions, through a combination of local genetic adaptations and phenotypic plasticity. Species with greater phenotypic plasticity are likely to be better positioned to cope with rapid anthropogenic climate changes, while those displaying strong local adaptations might benefit from translocations to assist the movement of adaptive genes as the climate changes. Eucalyptus tricarpa occurs across a climatic gradient in south‐eastern Australia, a region of increasing aridity, and we hypothesized that this species would display local adaptation to climate. We measured morphological and physiological traits reflecting climate responses in nine provenances from sites of 460 to 1040 mm annual rainfall, in their natural habitat and in common gardens near each end of the gradient. Local adaptation was evident in functional traits and differential growth rates in the common gardens. Some traits displayed complex combinations of plasticity and genetic divergence among provenances, including clinal variation in plasticity itself. Provenances from drier locations were more plastic in leaf thickness, whereas leaf size was more plastic in provenances from higher rainfall locations. Leaf density and stomatal physiology (as indicated by δ13C and δ18O) were highly and uniformly plastic. In addition to variation in mean trait values, genetic variation in trait plasticity may play a role in climate adaptation. |
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Keywords: | aridity climate change common garden intra‐species variation leaf morphology local adaptation phenotypic plasticity population‐dependent plasticity |
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