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The joint evolution of traits and habitat: ontogenetic shifts in leaf morphology and wetland specialization in Lasthenia
Author(s) -
Forrestel Elisabeth J.,
Ackerly David D.,
Emery Nancy C.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.13478
Subject(s) - biology , ecology , niche , habitat , adaptation (eye) , phylogenetic comparative methods , ecological niche , range (aeronautics) , clade , convergent evolution , niche differentiation , trait , evolutionary biology , phylogenetic tree , biochemistry , materials science , neuroscience , computer science , composite material , gene , programming language
Summary The interplay between functional traits and habitat associations drives species' evolutionary responses to environmental heterogeneity, including processes such as adaptation, ecological speciation, and niche evolution. Seasonal variation is an aspect of the environment that varies across habitats, and could result in adaptive shifts in trait values across the life cycle of a plant. Here, we use phylogenetic comparative methods to evaluate the joint evolution of plant traits and habitat associations in Lasthenia (Asteraceae), a small clade of predominantly annual plants that have differentiated into an ecologically diverse range of habitats, including seasonal ephemeral wetlands known as vernal pools. Our results support the hypothesis that there is a link between the evolution of leaf morphology and the ecohydrological niche in Lasthenia , and, in the formation of aerenchyma (air space), differentiation between vernal pool and terrestrial taxa is fine‐tuned to specific stages of plant ontogeny that reflects the evolution of heterophylly. Our findings demonstrate how the relationships between traits and habitat type can vary across the development of an organism, while highlighting a carefully considered comparative approach for examining correlated trait and niche evolution in a recently diversified and ecologically diverse plant clade.