Evolution of plant materials for ecological restoration: insights from the applied and basic literature

Espeland, Erin K.; Emery, Nancy C.; Mercer, Kristin L.; Woolbright, Scott A.; Kettenring, Karin M.; Gepts, Paul; Etterson, Julie R.

doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12739

Cited by 76 publications

(161 citation statements)

References 163 publications

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“…Plasticity in traits important for restoration success has been found for self‐fertilizing cultivars of perennial grasses, but not for an outcrossing, genetically diverse, prevariety germplasm (Espeland et al., ). Our study illustrates the importance of plasticity to persistence and evolution of local seed sources in restoration environments and propagule increase fields (Dyer, Knapp, & Rice, ; Espeland et al., ; Nevill et al., ); other research has shown the importance of plasticity to large‐scale restoration seeding with cultivars (Espeland et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Plasticity in native perennial grass populations: Implications for restoration

Espeland

Johnson²,

Horning

2017

Evolutionary Applications

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Increasing the evolutionary potential of restored populations has become a viable objective of restoration activities. Choosing plant materials genetically adapted to the restoration environment is critical for success, and phenotypic plasticity may also contribute to establishment and persistence in disturbed environments. To select seed sources for restoration informed by plasticity, we must answer the question: Do some source environments produce more plastic genotypes than others? Using a dataset of maternal families from 130 western US source populations of the perennial bunchgrass Poa secunda, we used variance components to determine the contribution of source population to phenotypic plasticity in two common gardens over two growing seasons. Compared with the genetic contribution to phenotypes, plasticity explained a large fraction of phenotypic variation and was particularly strong for phenology (timing of reproductive events) traits. Plasticity values among phenology traits were also highly correlated. For the morphological traits (panicle length, leaf size) and survival, the genetic contribution to the phenotype was greater than the plastic contribution, but plasticity values among these traits were not highly correlated. Seeds collected from warm and dry locations produced plants with more plasticity in phenology, panicle number, and biomass; cool and wet locations were associated with more plasticity in leaf size, panicle length, plant habit (prostrate or erect), and survival. Plasticity may complement genetic variation for adaptation in restoration materials in some traits. K E Y W O R D Sadaptive plasticity, genecology, intraspecific variation, phenotypic integration, Sandberg bluegrass

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Plasticity in native perennial grass populations: Implications for restoration

Espeland

Johnson²,

Horning

2017

Evolutionary Applications

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“…, Espeland et al. ). The simple approach of selecting warmer adapted genets assumes that predictions of environmental conditions are known and that there are no ecological trade‐offs in phenotypes (e.g., poor reproductive performance or poor disease resistance in heat‐tolerant genets).…”

Section: Choosing Coral Colonies For Restoration: Who and From Where?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Data from other systems demonstrate that after removal of initial culture selection, species can adapt to wild conditions rapidly, especially if time spent in captivity is short (Espeland et al. , but see Horreo et al. ).…”

Section: Future Research Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our review already includes recommendations to reduce unintended selection such as diversified provenancing (over different habitats and times), intentionally promoting gene flow, and matching the nursery and reef environments as closely as possible (Frankham , Espeland et al. ). Both outbreeding and inbreeding depression have yet to be tested experimentally in corals and should be a focus of future research.…”

Section: Future Research Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Considerations for maximizing the adaptive potential of restored coral populations in the western Atlantic

Baums

Baker

Davies

et al. 2019

Ecological Applications

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Active coral restoration typically involves two interventions: crossing gametes to facilitate sexual larval propagation; and fragmenting, growing, and outplanting adult colonies to enhance asexual propagation. From an evolutionary perspective, the goal of these efforts is to establish self-sustaining, sexually reproducing coral populations that have sufficient genetic and phenotypic variation to adapt to changing environments. Here, we provide concrete guidelines to help restoration practitioners meet this goal for most Caribbean species of interest. To enable the persistence of coral populations exposed to severe selection pressure from many stressors, a mixed provenance strategy is suggested: genetically unique colonies (genets) should be sourced both locally as well as from more distant, environmentally distinct sites. Sourcing three to four genets per reef along environmental gradients should be sufficient to capture a majority of intraspecies genetic diversity. It is best for practitioners to propagate genets with one or more phenotypic traits that are predicted to be valuable in the future, such as low partial mortality, high wound healing rate, high skeletal growth rate, bleaching resilience, infectious disease resilience, and high sexual reproductive output. Some effort should also be reserved for underperforming genets because colonies that grow poorly in nurseries sometimes thrive once returned to the reef and may harbor genetic variants with as yet unrecognized value. Outplants should be clustered in groups of four to six genets to enable successful fertilization upon maturation. Current evidence indicates that translocating genets among distant reefs is unlikely to be problematic from a population genetic perspective but will likely provide substantial adaptive benefits. Similarly, inbreeding depression is not a concern given that current practices only raise first-generation offspring. Thus, proceeding with the proposed management strategies even in the absence of a detailed population genetic analysis of the focal species at sites targeted for restoration is the best course of action. These basic guidelines should help maximize the adaptive potential of reef-building corals facing a rapidly changing environment.

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“…Extreme cases of this type of selection are native plant cultivars or other improved varieties. Not only are improved varieties often phenotypically invariant (Espeland & Hammond, ; Leger & Baughman, ) and therefore unlikely to respond to selection imposed by climate change and other adaptive hurdles (Espeland et al., ), but they have often been developed specifically for traits such as above‐ground biomass accumulation, herbicide tolerance, or suitability for mechanized harvesting (Chivers, et al and references therein) that may be maladaptive in the long term in some restoration environments (Leger & Baughman, ). Although cultivars and non‐native species might be considered the most cost‐effective and readily available seed varieties when short‐term goals like soil stabilization cannot be achieved with native accessions (D'Antonio & Meyerson, ; Jones, Monaco, & Rigby, ), they cannot be considered a cost‐effective choice when the goal of restoration is to sustain diverse native landscapes and the native wildlife that depend on them (Kuebbing & Nuñez, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%