Characterizing the contribution of plasticity and genetic differentiation to community-level trait responses to environmental change.

ABSTRACT: The match between functional trait variation in communities and environmental gradients is maintained by three processes: phenotypic plasticity and genetic differentiation (intraspecific processes), and species turnover (interspecific). Recently, evidence has emerged suggesting that intraspecific variation might have a potentially large role in driving functional community composition and response to environmental change. However, empirical evidence quantifying the respective importance of phenotypic plasticity and genetic differentiation relative to species turnover is still lacking. We performed a reciprocal transplant experiment using a common herbaceous plant species (Oxalis montana) among low-, mid-, and high-elevation sites to first quantify the contributions of plasticity and

SUBMITTER: Lajoie G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5916269 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature