Drought regimens predict life history strategies in Heliophila
© 2019 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2019 New Phytologist Trust.
Veröffentlicht in: | The New phytologist. - 1979. - 223(2019), 4 vom: 01. Sept., Seite 2054-2062 |
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1. Verfasser: | |
Weitere Verfasser: | , , |
Format: | Online-Aufsatz |
Sprache: | English |
Veröffentlicht: |
2019
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Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | The New phytologist |
Schlagworte: | Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Heliophila drought adaptation herbaria records life history evolution phylogeography remote sensing |
Zusammenfassung: | © 2019 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2019 New Phytologist Trust. Explaining variation in life history strategies is an enduring goal of evolutionary biology and ecology. Early theory predicted that for plants, annual and perennial life histories reflect adaptations to environments that experience alternative drought regimens. Nevertheless, empirical support for this hypothesis from comparative analyses remains lacking. Here, we test classic life history theory in Heliophila L. (Brassicaceae), a diverse genus of flowering plants native to Africa, controlling for phylogeny and integrating 34 yr of satellite-based drought detection with 2192 herbaria occurrence records. We find that the common ancestor of these species was likely to be an annual, and that perenniality and annuality have repeatedly evolved, an estimated seven and five times, respectively. By comparing historical drought regimens, we show that annuals rather than perennial species occur in environments where droughts are significantly more frequent. We also find evidence that annual plants adapt to predictable drought regimens by escaping drought-prone seasons as seeds. These results yield compelling support for longstanding theoretical predictions by revealing the importance of drought frequency and predictability to explain plant life history. More broadly, this work highlights scalable approaches, integrating herbaria records and remote sensing to address outstanding questions in evolutionary ecology |
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Beschreibung: | Date Completed 27.02.2020 Date Revised 30.09.2020 published: Print-Electronic Citation Status MEDLINE |
ISSN: | 1469-8137 |
DOI: | 10.1111/nph.15919 |