Evidence for adaptive responses to historic drought across a native plant species range.

ABSTRACT: As climatic conditions change, species will be forced to move or adapt to avoid extinction. Exacerbated by ongoing climate change, California recently experienced a severe and exceptional drought from 2011 to 2017. To investigate whether an adaptive response occurred during this event, we conducted a "resurrection" study of the cutleaf monkeyflower (Mimulus laciniatus), an annual plant, by comparing trait means and variances of ancestral seed collections ("pre-drought") with contemporary descendant collections ("drought"). Plants were grown under common conditions to test whether this geographically restricted species has the capacity to respond evolutionarily to climate stress across its range. We examined if traits shifted in response to the recent, severe drought and included pop

SUBMITTER: Dickman EE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6708426 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature