Geographical and land-use effects on seed-mass variation in common grassland plants

Völler, Eva; Auge, Harald; Prati, Daniel; Fischer, Markus; Hemp, Andreas; Bossdorf, Oliver

doi:10.1016/j.baae.2012.06.006

Cited by 26 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The search demonstrates that differentiation of seed mass in response to environmental gradients is well documented among populations within species (e.g. Völler et al ., ), albeit not universal (e.g. Zhao et al ., ).…”

Section: Ecologically Significant Seed Traits Vary Across Species Rangesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Will among‐population variation in seed traits improve the chance of species persistence under climate change?

Cochrane

Yates

Hoyle

et al. 2014

Global Ecology and Biogeography

221

189

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Aim Seed traits related to recruitment have direct relevance for plant fitness and persistence. Trait variation in time and among populations may increase species resilience and ultimately reduce the risk of extinction. However, patterns of amongpopulation variation in critical recruitment traits remain poorly known and are often disregarded when considering extinction risk under future climates.Location Global. MethodsIn this paper we review and synthesize current knowledge about among-population variation in physiological and morphological traits related to plant recruitment. We outline the consequences of that variation for species persistence under climate change, and discuss the implications for conservation, management and restoration.Results The evaluated studies provide compelling evidence that amongpopulation variation in traits underpinning seedling emergence, growth and establishment is widespread. Contrary to expectations, environmental gradients do not appear to be reliable predictors of variation among populations and responses are often individualistic. Likewise, well-established cross-species patterns are not consistently reflected among populations within a species. As the pattern of this variation is unpredictable, we cannot make simple generalizations about how this variation is allocated across geographic ranges or the extent of environmental versus fixed genetic differences. Nor do these patterns clearly elucidate the potential for this variation to mitigate negative effects of climate change. Main conclusionsIf we ignore among-population variation in seed traits, or assume it will follow simple environmental clines, we do so at our own peril. The consequences of such an approach are likely to include biased forecasts of future range dynamics, hindering identification of the genetic material most appropriate for conservation, restoration and management. Further research that integrates ecology and emerging evolutionary genetic techniques to identify the distribution of seed traits within foundation species and the mechanisms driving them is urgently required to guide the management and maintenance of systems in the face of rapidly changing climates.

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Section: Ecologically Significant Seed Traits Vary Across Species Rangesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Will among‐population variation in seed traits improve the chance of species persistence under climate change?

Cochrane

Yates

Hoyle

et al. 2014

Global Ecology and Biogeography

221

189

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…elatius to different mid‐winter scenarios differs with latitude of sample origin and whether the differences can be attributed to adaptive or neutral processes. Previous studies on A. elatius found high phenotypic and genetic variability for quantitative traits (Jenkin, ; Mahmoud, Grime, & Furness, ; Petit & Thompson, ; Sulinowski, ) as well as adaptive differentiation at different spatial scales (Kreyling et al., ; Petit & Thompson, ; Voeller et al., ). Further, investigations at the molecular level revealed comparatively high levels of genetic diversity within populations, negatively correlated with the number of growing degree days (Michalski et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Trait variation in response to varying winter temperatures, diversity patterns and signatures of selection along the latitudinal distribution of the widespread grassland plant Arrhenatherum elatius

Michalski

Malyshev

Kreyling

2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Across Europe, genetic diversity can be expected to decline toward the North because of stochastic and selective effects which may imply diminished phenotypic variation and less potential for future genetic adaptations to environmental change. Understanding such latitudinal patterns can aid provenance selection for breeding or assisted migration approaches. In an experiment simulating different winter temperatures, we assessed quantitative trait variation, genetic diversity, and differentiation for natural populations of the grass Arrhenatherum elatius originating from a large latitudinal gradient. In general, populations from the North grew smaller and had a lower flowering probability. Toward the North, the absolute plastic response to the different winter conditions as well as heritability for biomass production significantly declined. Genetic differentiation in plant height and probability of flowering were very strong and significantly higher than under neutral expectations derived from SNP data, suggesting adaptive differentiation. Differentiation in biomass production did not exceed but mirrored patterns for neutral genetic differentiation, suggesting that migration‐related processes caused the observed clinal trait variation. Our results demonstrate that genetic diversity and trait differentiation patterns for A. elatius along a latitudinal gradient are likely shaped by both local selection and genetic drift.

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“…However, most of these studies failed to distinguish whether this effect has an additive genetic component or whether it is related to phenotypic plasticity (i.e., maternal environmental effects) or genetic maternal effects (e.g., Voeller et al, 2012). When these effects have been successfully isolated, SW mean has not always shown a strong genetic control; indeed, several studies on wild species have either failed to detect within-population genetic variation in SW mean (Schwaegerle and Levin, 1990;Wolfe, 1995;Castellanos et al, 2008) or have reported very low heritability estimates (Mazer, 1987;Biere, 1991;Platenkamp and Shaw, 1993).…”

Section: Heritability Of Mean Swmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because of their close connection with the mother plant, seeds are influenced not only by their own genotype (House et al, 2010), but also by the maternal genotype (Schwaegerle and Levin, 1990;Platenkamp and Shaw, 1993;Wolfe, 1995) and by the environmental conditions where the mother plant has grown (Roach and Wulff, 1987). The maternal environmental effect has often been confounded by the effect of the maternal genotype (Vaughton and Ramsey, 1998;Susko and Lovett-Doust, 2000;Voeller et al, 2012;Sober and Ramula, 2013), which, in turn involves both nuclear and extranuclear effects (Lipow and Wyatt, 1999) and can differentially affect the different seed tissues because of their different genetic contributions (Lacey et al, 1997). Accurate quantification of additive genetic variation-essential for understanding the evolution of SW-will thus require complex quantitative genetic approaches that allow the relative genetic and environmental maternal effects to be distinguished (Mazer, 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heritability of seed weight in Maritime pine, a relevant trait in the transmission of environmental maternal effects

Zas

Sampedro

2014

Heredity

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Quantitative seed provisioning is an important life-history trait with strong effects on offspring phenotype and fitness. As for any other trait, heritability estimates are vital for understanding its evolutionary dynamics. However, being a trait in between two generations, estimating additive genetic variation of seed provisioning requires complex quantitative genetic approaches for distinguishing between true genetic and environmental maternal effects. Here, using Maritime pine as a long-lived plant model, we quantified additive genetic variation of cone and seed weight (SW) mean and SW within-individual variation. We used a powerful approach combining both half-sib analysis and parent-offspring regression using several common garden tests established in contrasting environments to separate G, E and G Â E effects. Both cone weight and SW mean showed significant genetic variation but were also influenced by the maternal environment. Most of the large variation in SW mean was attributable to additive genetic effects (h 2 ¼ 0.55-0.74). SW showed no apparent G Â E interaction, particularly when accounting for cone weight covariation, suggesting that the maternal genotypes actively control the SW mean irrespective of the amount of resources allocated to cones. Within-individual variation in SW was low (12%) relative to between-individual variation (88%), and showed no genetic variation but was largely affected by the maternal environment, with greater variation in the less favourable sites for pine growth. In summary, results were very consistent between the parental and the offspring common garden tests, and clearly indicated heritable genetic variation for SW mean but not for within-individual variation in SW.

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Geographical and land-use effects on seed-mass variation in common grassland plants

Cited by 26 publications

References 44 publications

Will among‐population variation in seed traits improve the chance of species persistence under climate change?

Will among‐population variation in seed traits improve the chance of species persistence under climate change?

Trait variation in response to varying winter temperatures, diversity patterns and signatures of selection along the latitudinal distribution of the widespread grassland plant Arrhenatherum elatius

Heritability of seed weight in Maritime pine, a relevant trait in the transmission of environmental maternal effects

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