Multivariate selection shapes environment-dependent variation in the clonal morphology of a red seaweed |
| |
Authors: | Keyne Monro Alistair G B Poore Robert Brooks |
| |
Institution: | (1) School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052, New South Wales, Australia |
| |
Abstract: | Within-individual strategies of variation (e.g., phenotypic plasticity) are particularly relevant to modular organisms, in
which ramets of the same genetic individual may encounter diverse environments imposing diverse patterns of selection. Hence,
measuring selection in heterogeneous environments is essential to understanding whether environment-dependent phenotypic change
enhances the fitness of modular individuals. In sublittoral marine habitats, competition for light and space among modular
taxa generates extreme patchiness in resource availability. Little is known, however, of the potential for plasticity within
individuals to arise from spatially-variable selection in such systems. We tested whether plasticity enhances genet-level
fitness in Asparagopsis armata, a clonal seaweed in which correlated traits mediate morphological responses to variation in light. Using the capacity for
rapid, clonal growth to measure fitness, we identified aspects of ramet morphology targeted by selection in two contrasting
light environments and compared patterns of selection across environments. We found that directional selection on single traits,
coupled with linear and nonlinear selection on multi-trait interactions, shape ramet morphology within environments and favor
different phenotypes in each. Evidence of environment-dependent, multivariate selection on correlated traits is novel for
any marine modular organism and demonstrates that seaweeds, such as A. armata, may potentially adapt to environmental heterogeneity via plasticity in clonal morphology. |
| |
Keywords: | Adaptation Canonical rotation Clonal morphology Correlated traits Modular organisms Multivariate selection Plasticity Seaweed |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|