Plasticity of functional traits varies clinally along a rainfall gradient in Eucalyptus tricarpa

Document Type

Journal Article

Publisher

Blackwell Publishing

Faculty

Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science

School

Centre for Ecosystem Management

RAS ID

17565

Comments

Mclean E.H., Prober S.M., Stock W.D., Steane D.A., Potts B.M., Vaillancourt R.E., & Byrne M. (2014). Plasticity of functional traits varies clinally along a rainfall gradient in Eucalyptus tricarpa. Plant, Cell and Environment, 37(6), 1440-1451. Available here

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 1040mm 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.

DOI

10.1111/pce.12251

Access Rights

free_to_read

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