Abstract
A split-family design with progenies grown across a steep temperature gradient was used to examine the patterns of reaction norm variation in two locally rare, thermophilous plant species, Vicia pisiformis and V. dumetorum. We predicted (i) a negative association between the amount of genetic variation and the magnitude of response across temperatures; (ii) broader ecological tolerance and higher levels of genetic variation for reaction norm parameters in the broadly adapted V. dumetorum than in the ecologically restricted V. pisiformis; and (iii) higher performance across environments for central populations than for geographically marginal populations. Patterns of variation in 10 vegetative characters, including measures of overall plant size, provided no evidence of a trade-off between plasticity and genetic variation. Our data indicate greater performance across temperatures and more divergent genotypes in V. dumetorum than in V. pisiformis. Central populations of V. pisiformis performed better than conspecific populations from the marginal (northern) regions.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Andersson, S, and Widén, B S. 1993. Reaction norm variation in a rare plant Senecio integrifolius (Asteraceae) Heredity, 73, 598–607.
Aronsson, M, Hallingbäck, T, and Mattson, J E. 1995. Rödlistade växter i Sverige 1995 (Swedish Red Data Book of Plants 1995). Artdatabanken, Uppsala.
Black, S, Eriksson, G, Gustafsson, L, and Lundkvist, K. 1995. Ecological genetics of the rare species Vicia pisiformis: Quantitative genetic variation and temperature response in biomass and fecundity. Acta Oecologica, 16, 261–275.
Bradshaw, A D. 1965. Evolutionary significance of pheno-typic plasticity in plants. Adv Genet, 13, 115–155.
Bulmer, M G. 1980. The Mathematical Theory of Quantitative Genetics. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Cook, S A, and Johnson, M P. 1968. Adaptation to heterogeneous environments. I. Variation in hetero-phylly in Ranunculus flammula L. Evolution, 22, 496–516.
Ellenberg, H, Weber, H E, Düll, R, Wirth, V, Werner, W, and Paulissen, D. 1991. Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Erich Goltze KG, Göttingen.
Gustafsson, L. 1991. Ärtvicker, Vicia pisiformis i Sverige (Vicia pisiformis in Sweden). Sv Bot Tids, 85, 21–32. (In Swedish with English abstract.)
Gustafsson, L. 1992. Buskvicker, Vicia dumetorum i Sverige (Vicia dumetorum in Sweden). Sv Bot Tids, 86, 233–242. (In Swedish with English abstract.)
Gustafsson, L, and Gustafsson, P. 1994. Low genetic variation in Swedish populations of the rare species Vicia pisiformis (Fabaceae) revealed with RFLP (rDNA) and PCR (random priming). Pl Syst Evol, 189, 133–148.
Hanelt, P, and Mettin, D. 1989. Biosystematics of the genus Vicia L. (Leguminosae). Ann Rev Ecol Syst, 20, 199–223.
Kruckeberg, A R, and Rabinowitz, D. 1985. Biological aspects of endemism in higher plants. Ann Rev Ecol Syst, 16, 447–479.
Loveless, M D, and Hamrick, J L. 1984. Ecological determinants of genetic structure in plant populations. Ann Rev Ecol Syst, 15, 65–95.
Macdonald, S E, and Chinnappa, C C. 1989. Population differentiation for phenotypic plasticity in the Stellaria longipes complex. Am J Bot, 76, 1627–1637.
Marshall, D R, and Jain, S K. 1968. Phenotypic plasticity of Avenafatua and A barbata. Am Nat, 102, 457–467.
Meagher, T R, Antonovics, J, and Primack, R. 1978. Experimental ecological genetics in Plantago. III. Genetic variation in relation to survival of Plantago cordata, a rare species. Biol Conserv, 14, 243–257.
Ouborg, N J, and Van Treuren, R. 1995. Variation in fitness-related characters among small and large populations of Salvia pratensis. J Ecol, 83, 369–380.
Rabinowitz, D. 1981. Seven forms of rarity. In: Synge, H. (ed.) The Biological Aspects of Rare Plants, pp. 205–217. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.
Sas Institute Inc. 1989. SAS/STAT Users Guide, Version 6, 4th edn, Vol. 2. SAS Institute, Cary. NC.
Scheiner, S M, and Goodnight, C J. 1984. The comparison of phenotypic plasticity and genetic variation in populations of the grass Danthonia spicata. Evolution, 38, 845–855.
Schlichtinq, C D, and Levin, D A. 1984. Phenotypic plasticity of annual Phlox: tests of some hypotheses. Am J Bot, 71, 252–260.
Silander, J A. 1985. The genetic basis of the ecological amplitude of Spartina patens. II. Variance and correlation analysis. Evolution, 39, 1034–1052.
Soulé, M. 1973. The epistasis cycle: a theory of marginal populations. Ann Rev Ecol Syst, 4, 165–187.
Stewart, C N, and Nilsen, E T. 1995. Phenotypic plasticity and genetic variation of Vaccinium macrocarpon, the American cranberry. I. Reaction norms of clones from central and marginal populations in a common garden. Int J Plant Sci 156, 687–697.
Sultan, S E. 1987. Evolutionary implications of phenotypic plasticity in plants. Evol Biol, 21, 127–178.
Taylor, D R, and Aarssen, L W. 1988. An interpretation of phenotypic plasticity in Agropyron repens (Graminae). Am J Bot, 75, 401–413.
Via, S. 1987. Genetic constraints on the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. In: Loeschcke, V. (ed.) Genetic Constraints on Adaptive Evolution, pp. 47–71. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Via, S, and Lande, R. 1985. Genotype-environment interaction and the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. Evolution, 39, 505–523.
Widén, B, and Andersson, S. 1993. Quantitative genetics of life-history and morphology in a rare plant, Senecio integrifolius. Heredity, 70, 503–514.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Black-Samuelsson, S., Andersson, S. Reaction norm variation between and within populations of two rare plant species, Vicia pisiformis and V. dumetorum (Fabaceae). Heredity 79, 268–276 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1997.154
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1997.154