Disparate relatives: Life histories vary more in genera occupying intermediate environments

0381350 - BÚ 2013 RIV DE eng J - Journal Article
Hermant, M. - Hennion, F. - Bartish, Igor V. - Yugel, B. - Prinzing, A.
Disparate relatives: Life histories vary more in genera occupying intermediate environments.
Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. Roč. 14, č. 4 (2012), s. 283-301. ISSN 1433-8319. E-ISSN 1433-8319
Institutional support: RVO:67985939
Keywords : life-history traits * dated phylogeny * regional trait variability
Subject RIV: EF - Botanics
Impact factor: 4.158, year: 2012

Species within clades are commonly assumed to share similar life history traits, but within a given region some clades show much greater variability in traits than others. We studied the variability of six life-history traits (initiation of flowering, duration of flowering, plant life span, seed mass, stress tolerance, type of reproduction) within 383 angiosperm genera from Central Europe distributed along six abiotic gradients. We compared patterns of within-genus variability to those present in the entire dataset, independent of genus membership. We found that trait variability differed strongly between genera, but did not depend on their age. Trait variability was higher within genera occupying intermediate positions along regional abiotic environmental gradients, compared with patterns across the entire dataset. We conclude that intermediate abiotic environments play an important role in maintaining and possibly generating the striking diversity of life history traits.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0211841