The spatial scale of adaptive population differentiation in a wide‐spread, well‐dispersed plant species

Abstract

Adaptation to the specific conditions at different sites may contribute strongly to the wide distribution of a plant species. However, little is known about the scale at which such adaptation occurs in common species. We studied population differentiation, plasticity and local adaptation of the short-lived perennial Hypochoeris radicata, a widespread and common plant whose seeds are well-dispersed. We reciprocally transplanted seedlings among several populations of different size within and among three European regions (in the northwest Czech Republic, central Germany and the central Netherlands) and studied several fitness-related traits over two growing seasons. The region in which the reciprocal transplant experiment was carried out had no influence on the performance of seedlings, indicating that there were no differences in overall habitat quality. In contrast, the site within region, and the plot within site strongly influenced mean plant performance. Plants from different populations of origin differed in their performance, indicating genetic variation among populations, but performance strongly depended on the specific combination of population of origin and transplant site. Plants that grew at their home site produced on average almost twice the number of seeds per transplant (a multiplicative fitness measure) than foreign plants originating from other sites. Survival, rosette size and multiplicative fitness all decreased with increasing distance from the home site to the transplant site. The size of the population of origin did not influence overall plant performance or the strength of local adaptation. In conclusion, our results indicate that the common and widespread H. radicata consists of locally adapted genotypes within its European range at a relatively small scale. Thus a large potential for gene flow by seeds and a high density of populations do not appear to be sufficient to prevent population differentiation by selection.

Genetic differentiation and regional adaptation among seed origins used for grassland restoration: lessons from a multispecies transplant experiment

“…; Becker et al . , ; Leimu & Fischer ; Raabová, Münzbergová & Fischer ). Together with the evidence from previous studies, our results suggest that regional adaptation at a scale relevant for restoration practice is indeed fairly common among grassland plants.…”

“…; Becker et al . , ), whereas in others it was the climatic difference between origin and planting site (Weißhuhn et al . ), the similarity of habitats (Bischoff et al .…”

Genetic structure of Saxifraga rosacea subsp. sponhemica, a rare endemic rock plant of Central Europe

“…The creation of new populations in suitable habitats within the different regions might thus be considered. Because of the significant clines in non-neutral markers, seeds from the same region should be used to avoid potential maladaptation to local conditions (Becker et al 2006(Becker et al , 2008.…”

Influence of multiple factors on plant local adaptation: soil type and folivore effects in Ruellia nudiflora (Acanthaceae)

“…For example, it is predicted that short-lived self-compatible species will tend to have more differentiated populations which are prone to local adaptation at smaller spatial scales (Linhart and Grant 1996; but see Leimu and Fischer 2008;Hereford 2010). Finally, other factors such as large population sizes (Jakobsson and Dinnetz 2005; but see Becker et al 2006Becker et al , 2008, greater time since establishment of a population (Parker et al 2003), and greater distance between populations (Galloway and Fenster 2000;Becker et al 2006; but see Becker et al 2008) will increase the likelihood of plant local adaptation. The degree to which some or all of these factors predominate will determine the strength of local adaptation.…”