Exploring sub-individual variability: role of ontogeny, abiotic environment and seed-dispersing birds
| Autor: | Javier Guitián, Pablo Guitián, Mar Sobral, C. Violle, Asier R. Larrinaga |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Sobral, M., Larrinaga, Asier R. |
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Soil nutrients
0106 biological sciences Adaptive value Seed dispersal Crataegus monogyna Phenotypic plasticity Plant Science Biology Environment Soil water content 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Trees Selection coefficient Birds Soil Soil pH Seed Dispersal Animals Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Abiotic component Crataegus Natural selection Biological Variation Individual Ecology food and beverages Selection gradient General Medicine Protect restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems sustainably manage forests combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss Functional trait Correlated selection Tree age Fruit Trait Sub-individual variation 010606 plant biology & botany |
| Zdroj: | Plant biology (Stuttgart, Germany). 21(4) |
| ISSN: | 1438-8677 |
| Popis: | 7 páginas, 2 figuras, 1 tabla Within-individual trait variation - otherwise known as sub-individual variation - is an important component of phenotypic variation, with both a genetic and epigenetic basis. We explore its adaptive value and the effects of ontogeny and the environment on sub-individual variability. We conducted a field study to analyse the effects of tree age, soil pH, soil water content and soil nutrients on sub-individual variability in fruit size of hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) in three sites in northwest Spain. Additionally, we examined how bird-mediated selection influences average and sub-individual variation in fruit size. Results show that average and sub-individual variations in fruit size were related to fitness affecting seed dispersal. Older trees produced larger fruits, but tree age did not affect sub-individual variation in fruit size. Abiotic environmental factors differently affected sub-individual variation and average fruit size. Seed-dispersing birds exerted correlated selection on average and variation in fruit size, favouring trees with larger and less variable fruit size at one site. Our work suggests that the fruit size variation within individual trees, the sub-individual variation, is modified by abiotic environmental factors and, additionally, is an adaptive trait that responds to natural selection. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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