Evolutionary and plastic changes in a native annual plant after a historic drought.

ABSTRACT: Severe droughts are forecast to increase with global change. Approaches that enable the study of contemporary evolution, such as resurrection studies, are valuable for providing insights into the responses of populations to global change. In this study, we used a resurrection approach to study the evolution of the California native Leptosiphon bicolor (true babystars, Polemoniaceae) across populations differing in precipitation in response to the state's recent prolonged drought (2011-2017). In the Mediterranean climate region in which L. bicolor grows, this historic drought effectively shortened its growing season. We used seeds collected both before and after this drought from three populations found along a moisture availability gradient to assess contemporary evolution in

SUBMITTER: Lambrecht SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7297769 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature