Unravelling the architecture of functional variability in wild populations of Polygonum viviparum L.

ABSTRACT: Functional variability (FV) of populations can be decomposed into three main features: the individual variability of multiple traits, the strength of correlations between those traits and the main direction of these correlations, the latter two being known as 'phenotypic integration'. Evolutionary biology has long recognized that FV in natural populations is key to determining potential evolutionary responses, but this topic has been little studied in functional ecology.Here we focus on the arctico-alpine perennial plant species Polygonum viviparum L.. We used a comprehensive sampling of seven functional traits in 29 wild populations covering the whole environmental niche of the species. The niche of the species was captured by a temperature gradient, which separated alpine stressfu

SUBMITTER: Boucher FC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4001464 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature