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Contemporary evolution of plant reproductive strategies under global change is revealed by stored seeds
Author(s) -
Thomann M.,
Imbert E.,
Engstrand R. C.,
Cheptou P.O.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/jeb.12603
Subject(s) - biology , phenology , natural selection , pollinator , adaptation (eye) , population , trait , ecology , climate change , local adaptation , selection (genetic algorithm) , reproductive success , gene flow , pollination , genetic variation , demography , pollen , biochemistry , neuroscience , artificial intelligence , sociology , computer science , gene , programming language
Global change is expected to impose new selection pressures on natural populations. Phenotypic responses, such as earlier phenology in response to climate warming, have been repeatedly observed in the field. The recent pollinator decline is also expected to change selection on reproductive traits in flowering plants. However, it remains unclear whether short‐term adaptation of plant reproductive strategies occurs in response to global change. In this study, we report the evolution of some important reproductive traits of the annual self‐incompatible weed C entaurea cyanus . In a common garden experiment, we germinated stored seeds, sampled 18 years apart from the same location, in a region where warmer springs and indices of pollinator decline have been reported. Compared to the ancestral population (1992), our results showed that plants of the descendant population (2010) flowered earlier and also produced larger capitula with longer receptivity and a larger floral display. Q ST – F ST comparisons indicated that natural selection has likely contributed to the evolution of some of the traits investigated. Lower F ST within temporal samples than among spatial samples further suggests a limited role of gene flow from neighbouring populations. We therefore propose that trait shifts could partly be due to adaptation to global change.