Phylogenetic conservatism in plant phenology

Abstract

Summary1. Phenological events -defined points in the life cycle of a plant or animal -have been regarded as highly plastic traits, reflecting flexible responses to various environmental cues. 2. The ability of a species to track, via shifts in phenological events, the abiotic environment through time might dictate its vulnerability to future climate change. Understanding the predictors and drivers of phenological change is therefore critical. 3. Here, we evaluated evidence for phylogenetic conservatism -the tendency for closely related species to share similar ecological and biological attributes -in phenological traits across flowering plants. We aggregated published and unpublished data on timing of first flower and first leaf, encompassing 4000 species at 23 sites across the Northern Hemisphere. We reconstructed the phylogeny for the set of included species, first, using the software program Phylomatic, and second, from DNA data. We then quantified phylogenetic conservatism in plant phenology within and across sites. 4. We show that more closely related species tend to flower and leaf at similar times. By contrasting mean flowering times within and across sites, however, we illustrate that it is not the time of year that is conserved, but rather the phenological responses to a common set of abiotic cues. 5. Our findings suggest that species cannot be treated as statistically independent when modelling phenological responses. 6. Synthesis. Closely related species tend to resemble each other in the timing of their life-history events, a likely product of evolutionarily conserved responses to environmental cues. The search for the underlying drivers of phenology must therefore account for species' shared evolutionary histories.

Fenología reproductiva de Stenocereus thurberi (Cactaceae) en una región de transición del norte de Sinaloa, México

“…Debido a tales restricciones, las especies de una misma familia botánica en floras ecológicamente distantes pueden compartir un alto grado de semejanza fenológica (Davies et al 2013).…”

Contrasted taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity patterns in semi-natural permanent grasslands along an altitudinal gradient

“…The number of species included in the phylogeny for testing phylogenetic signal varied depending on traits, ranging from 244 for leaf dry matter content to 362 for the flowering duration (table 2). The phylogenetic signal and functional trait conservation are not always uniform along the phylogenetic tree (Davies et al 2013). Grasses are important components of grassland plant communities that structure habitats.…”

Phenological shifts of native and invasive species under climate change: insights from the Boechera–Lythrum model

“…Phenological shifts in response to climate warming are not consistent across plant taxa, with some species flowering earlier while others flower later or do not change significantly over time [17,18]. These differences in the magnitude and direction of phenological shifts are phylogenetically correlated, suggesting a significant genetic basis [19,20]. However, the magnitude of phenological change also differs significantly between native and introduced species, suggesting an important role for short-term ecological and evolutionary processes [21].…”