Extensive variation, but not local adaptation in an Australian alpine daisy.

ABSTRACT: Alpine plants often occupy diverse habitats within a similar elevation range, but most research on local adaptation in these plants has focused on elevation gradients. In testing for habitat-related local adaptation, local effects on seed quality and initial plant growth should be considered in designs that encompass multiple populations and habitats. We tested for local adaptation across alpine habitats in a morphologically variable daisy species, Brachyscome decipiens, in the Bogong High Plains in Victoria, Australia. We collected seed from different habitats, controlled for maternal effects through initial seed size estimates, and characterized seedling survival and growth in a field transplant experiment. We found little evidence for local adaptation for survival or plant size, based o

SUBMITTER: Hirst MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4984517 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature