Ecological genetics of Juglans nigra: Differences in early growth patterns of natural populations
Abstract Many boreal and temperate forest tree species distributed across large geographic ranges are composed of populations adapted to the climate they inhabit. Forestry provenance studies and common gardens provide evidence of local adaptation to climate when associations between fitness traits a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7571 |
| _version_ | 1818449247350030336 |
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| author | Lauren Onofrio Gary Hawley Laura P. Leites |
| author_facet | Lauren Onofrio Gary Hawley Laura P. Leites |
| author_sort | Lauren Onofrio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Many boreal and temperate forest tree species distributed across large geographic ranges are composed of populations adapted to the climate they inhabit. Forestry provenance studies and common gardens provide evidence of local adaptation to climate when associations between fitness traits and the populations' home climates are observed. Most studies that evaluate tree height as a fitness trait do so at a specific point in time. In this study, we elucidate differences in early growth patterns in black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) populations by modeling height growth from seed up to age 11. The data comprise tree height measurements between ages 2 and 11 for 52 natural populations of black walnut collected through its geographic range and planted in one or more of 3 common gardens. We use the Chapman–Richards growth model in a mixed effects framework and test whether populations differ in growth patterns by incorporating populations' home climate into the model. In addition, we evaluate differences in populations' absolute growth and relative growth based on the fitted model. Models indicated that populations from warmer climates had the highest cumulative growth through time, with differences in average tree height between populations from home climates with a mean annual temperature (MAT) of 13°C and of 7°C estimated to be as high as 80% at age 3. Populations from warmer climates were also estimated to have higher and earlier maximum absolute growth rate than populations from colder climates. In addition, populations from warm climates were predicted to have higher relative growth rates at any given tree size. Results indicate that natural selection may shape early growth patterns of populations within a tree species, suggesting that fast early growth rates are likely selected for in relatively mild environments where competition rather than tolerance to environmental stressors becomes the dominant selection pressure. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T20:32:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-75441763fd164a55b14665846f23c514 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T20:32:22Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-75441763fd164a55b14665846f23c5142022-12-21T22:48:29ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582021-06-0111127399741010.1002/ece3.7571Ecological genetics of Juglans nigra: Differences in early growth patterns of natural populationsLauren Onofrio0Gary Hawley1Laura P. Leites2Department of Ecosystem Science and Management The Pennsylvania State University University Park PA USARubenstein School of Environment and the Natural Resources The University of Vermont Burlington VT USADepartment of Ecosystem Science and Management The Pennsylvania State University University Park PA USAAbstract Many boreal and temperate forest tree species distributed across large geographic ranges are composed of populations adapted to the climate they inhabit. Forestry provenance studies and common gardens provide evidence of local adaptation to climate when associations between fitness traits and the populations' home climates are observed. Most studies that evaluate tree height as a fitness trait do so at a specific point in time. In this study, we elucidate differences in early growth patterns in black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) populations by modeling height growth from seed up to age 11. The data comprise tree height measurements between ages 2 and 11 for 52 natural populations of black walnut collected through its geographic range and planted in one or more of 3 common gardens. We use the Chapman–Richards growth model in a mixed effects framework and test whether populations differ in growth patterns by incorporating populations' home climate into the model. In addition, we evaluate differences in populations' absolute growth and relative growth based on the fitted model. Models indicated that populations from warmer climates had the highest cumulative growth through time, with differences in average tree height between populations from home climates with a mean annual temperature (MAT) of 13°C and of 7°C estimated to be as high as 80% at age 3. Populations from warmer climates were also estimated to have higher and earlier maximum absolute growth rate than populations from colder climates. In addition, populations from warm climates were predicted to have higher relative growth rates at any given tree size. Results indicate that natural selection may shape early growth patterns of populations within a tree species, suggesting that fast early growth rates are likely selected for in relatively mild environments where competition rather than tolerance to environmental stressors becomes the dominant selection pressure.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7571adaptation to climateecological geneticsJuglans nigrajuvenile growth patternsprovenance tests |
| spellingShingle | Lauren Onofrio Gary Hawley Laura P. Leites Ecological genetics of Juglans nigra: Differences in early growth patterns of natural populations Ecology and Evolution adaptation to climate ecological genetics Juglans nigra juvenile growth patterns provenance tests |
| title | Ecological genetics of Juglans nigra: Differences in early growth patterns of natural populations |
| title_full | Ecological genetics of Juglans nigra: Differences in early growth patterns of natural populations |
| title_fullStr | Ecological genetics of Juglans nigra: Differences in early growth patterns of natural populations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ecological genetics of Juglans nigra: Differences in early growth patterns of natural populations |
| title_short | Ecological genetics of Juglans nigra: Differences in early growth patterns of natural populations |
| title_sort | ecological genetics of juglans nigra differences in early growth patterns of natural populations |
| topic | adaptation to climate ecological genetics Juglans nigra juvenile growth patterns provenance tests |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7571 |
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