Eco‐evolutionary causes and consequences of rarity in plants: a meta‐analysis

Boyd, Jennifer Nagel; Anderson, Jill T.; Brzyski, Jessica R.; Baskauf, Carol J.; Cruse‐Sanders, Jennifer

doi:10.1111/nph.18172

Cited by 13 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 160 publications

(199 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In contrast to our plasticity results, our analysis of the species‐level genetic diversity of rare B. perstellata and widespread B. laevigata largely supported our hypothesis about the comparative genetic diversity of these rare and common species, which aligns with the results of previous comparative syntheses (Boyd, Anderson, et al, 2022; Cole, 2003; Gitzendanner & Soltis, 2000; Leimu & Fischer, 2008). Specifically, there were more than twice as many alleles present across sampled loci for widespread B. laevigata compared with rare B. perstellata even though fewer B. laevigata populations were sampled.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…In the face of environmental change, limited plasticity could impede species persistence, especially when migration and/or adaptation are also impeded by low fitness and genetic diversity as is characteristic of many rare species (Boyd, Anderson, et al, 2022). In contrast, phenotypic plasticity could provide a pathway to persistence through change, especially relatively rapid environmental change that may outpace the ability of species to adapt to new conditions (Chevin et al, 2010; Snell‐Rood et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Importantly, phenotypic plasticity is not always adaptive (Bonser, 2021; Hendry, 2016; Palacio‐López et al, 2015), but research on the adaptive nature of phenotypic plasticity in plant traits has been limited (Arnold et al, 2019; Wei et al, 2021), including within the context of rarity (Boyd, Anderson, et al, 2022). While our selection analyses revealed that plasticity was not always influential to fitness (i.e., plasticity was most neutral), we did find evidence that plasticity in RSR mass across Boechera species within the context of water availability is adaptative.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such constraints could explain both the narrow ranges and habitat specificity of many rare species, as well as their declines in the face of environmental change (Nicotra et al, 2010). Studies that compare the plasticity of rare and common species in the context of environmental change could test the hypothesis that geographically restricted species and/or habitat specialists may be limited by an inability to acclimate to broader environmental conditions (Boyd, Anderson, et al, 2022) and provide guidance for rare species conservation during a time of rapid environmental change (Bevill & Louda, 1999). Congeneric comparisons could be especially useful in advancing our understanding of the causes and consequences of species rarity by controlling for differences in life history and phylogeny (Combs et al, 2013; Farnsworth, 2006; Godt & Hamrick, 2001; Kunin & Gaston, 1997; Murray et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But plant species, populations, and individuals can exhibit dramatic differences in plasticity that may influence their responses to environmental change in different ways (Balaguer et al, 2001; Cleavitt, 2002; Dangremond et al, 2015; Godoy et al, 2012; Nicotra & Davidson, 2010; Osunkoya & Swanborough, 2001; Pohlman et al, 2005; Stamp & Hatfield, 2020; Sultan, 2000; Valladares et al, 2000, 2007). Plasticity has been underexplored in the context of the causes and consequences of plant species rarity (Boyd, Anderson, et al, 2022; but see Boyd, Odell, et al, 2022; Hirst et al, 2017; Liao et al, 2006; Lovell & McKay, 2015; Rutherford et al, 2017), although it has been long suggested that rare species could be constrained by low plasticity relative to more common species (Murray et al, 2002). Such constraints could explain both the narrow ranges and habitat specificity of many rare species, as well as their declines in the face of environmental change (Nicotra et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Phenotypic plasticity and genetic diversity shed light on endemism of rare Boechera perstellata and its potential vulnerability to climate warming

Boyd,

Baskauf,

Lindsey

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The rapid pace of contemporary environmental change puts many species at risk, especially rare species constrained by limited capacity to adapt or migrate due to low genetic diversity and/or fitness. But the ability to acclimate can provide another way to persist through change. We compared the capacity of rare Boechera perstellata (Braun's rockcress) and widespread B. laevigata to acclimate to change. We investigated the phenotypic plasticity of growth, biomass allocation, and leaf morphology of individuals of B. perstellata and B. laevigata propagated from seed collected from several populations throughout their ranges in a growth chamber experiment to assess their capacity to acclimate. Concurrently, we assessed the genetic diversity of sampled populations using 17 microsatellite loci to assess evolutionary potential. Plasticity was limited in both rare B. perstellata and widespread B. laevigata, but differences in the plasticity of root traits between species suggest that B. perstellata may have less capacity to acclimate to change. In contrast to its widespread congener, B. perstellata exhibited no plasticity in response to temperature and weaker plastic responses to water availability. As expected, B. perstellata also had lower levels of observed heterozygosity than B. laevigata at the species level, but population‐level trends in diversity measures were inconsistent due to high heterogeneity among B. laevigata populations. Overall, the ability of phenotypic plasticity to broadly explain the rarity of B. perstellata versus commonness of B. laevigata is limited. However, some contextual aspects of our plasticity findings compared with its relatively low genetic variability may shed light on the narrow range and habitat associations of B. perstellata and suggest its vulnerability to climate warming due to acclimatory and evolutionary constraints.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Phenotypic plasticity and genetic diversity shed light on endemism of rare Boechera perstellata and its potential vulnerability to climate warming

Boyd,

Baskauf,

Lindsey

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

An evolutionary case for plant rarity: Eucalyptus as a model system

Nytko,

Senior,

Wooliver

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Species rarity is a common phenomenon across global ecosystems that is becoming increasingly more common under climate change. Although species rarity is often considered to be a stochastic response to environmental and ecological constraints, we examined the hypothesis that plant rarity is a consequence of natural selection acting on performance traits that affect a species range size, habitat specificity, and population aggregation; three primary descriptors of rarity. Using a common garden of 25 species of Tasmanian Eucalyptus, we find that the rarest species have 70% lower biomass than common species. Although rare species demonstrate lower biomass, rare species allocated proportionally more biomass aboveground than common species. There is also a negative phylogenetic autocorrelation underlying the biomass of rare and common species, indicating that traits associated with rarity have diverged within subgenera as a result of environmental factors to reach different associated optima. In support of our hypothesis, we found significant positive relationships between species biomass, range size and habitat specificity, but not population aggregation. These results demonstrate repeated convergent evolution of the trait‐based determinants of rarity across the phylogeny in Tasmanian eucalypts. Furthermore, the phylogenetically driven patterns in biomass and biomass allocation seen in rare species may be representative of a larger plant strategy, not yet considered, but offering a mechanism as to how rare species continue to persist despite inherent constraints of small, specialized ranges and populations. These results suggest that if rarity can evolve and is related to plant traits such as biomass, rather than a random outcome of environmental constraints, we may need to revise conservation efforts in these and other rare species to reconsider the abiotic and biotic factors that underlie the distributions of rare plant species.

show abstract