Urbanization and a green corridor do not impact genetic divergence in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.)
Abstract Urbanization is altering landscapes globally at an unprecedented rate. While ecological differences between urban and rural environments often promote phenotypic divergence among populations, it is unclear to what degree these trait differences arise from genetic divergence as opposed to ph...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47524-8 |
| _version_ | 1797453107330809856 |
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| author | Sophie T. Breitbart Anurag A. Agrawal Helene H. Wagner Marc T. J. Johnson |
| author_facet | Sophie T. Breitbart Anurag A. Agrawal Helene H. Wagner Marc T. J. Johnson |
| author_sort | Sophie T. Breitbart |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Urbanization is altering landscapes globally at an unprecedented rate. While ecological differences between urban and rural environments often promote phenotypic divergence among populations, it is unclear to what degree these trait differences arise from genetic divergence as opposed to phenotypic plasticity. Furthermore, little is known about how specific landscape elements, such as green corridors, impact genetic divergence in urban environments. We tested the hypotheses that: (1) urbanization, and (2) proximity to an urban green corridor influence genetic divergence in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) populations for phenotypic traits. Using seeds from 52 populations along three urban-to-rural subtransects in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, one of which followed a green corridor, we grew ~ 1000 plants in a common garden setup and measured > 20 ecologically-important traits associated with plant defense/damage, reproduction, and growth over four years. We found significant heritable variation for nine traits within common milkweed populations and weak phenotypic divergence among populations. However, neither urbanization nor an urban green corridor influenced genetic divergence in individual traits or multivariate phenotype. These findings contrast with the expanding literature demonstrating that urbanization promotes rapid evolutionary change and offer preliminary insights into the eco-evolutionary role of green corridors in urban environments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:18:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fff86d59a37145e2a4cff7481c7699d9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:18:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-fff86d59a37145e2a4cff7481c7699d92023-11-26T13:01:09ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-11-0113111610.1038/s41598-023-47524-8Urbanization and a green corridor do not impact genetic divergence in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.)Sophie T. Breitbart0Anurag A. Agrawal1Helene H. Wagner2Marc T. J. Johnson3Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of TorontoDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell UniversityDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of TorontoDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of TorontoAbstract Urbanization is altering landscapes globally at an unprecedented rate. While ecological differences between urban and rural environments often promote phenotypic divergence among populations, it is unclear to what degree these trait differences arise from genetic divergence as opposed to phenotypic plasticity. Furthermore, little is known about how specific landscape elements, such as green corridors, impact genetic divergence in urban environments. We tested the hypotheses that: (1) urbanization, and (2) proximity to an urban green corridor influence genetic divergence in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) populations for phenotypic traits. Using seeds from 52 populations along three urban-to-rural subtransects in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, one of which followed a green corridor, we grew ~ 1000 plants in a common garden setup and measured > 20 ecologically-important traits associated with plant defense/damage, reproduction, and growth over four years. We found significant heritable variation for nine traits within common milkweed populations and weak phenotypic divergence among populations. However, neither urbanization nor an urban green corridor influenced genetic divergence in individual traits or multivariate phenotype. These findings contrast with the expanding literature demonstrating that urbanization promotes rapid evolutionary change and offer preliminary insights into the eco-evolutionary role of green corridors in urban environments.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47524-8 |
| spellingShingle | Sophie T. Breitbart Anurag A. Agrawal Helene H. Wagner Marc T. J. Johnson Urbanization and a green corridor do not impact genetic divergence in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) Scientific Reports |
| title | Urbanization and a green corridor do not impact genetic divergence in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) |
| title_full | Urbanization and a green corridor do not impact genetic divergence in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) |
| title_fullStr | Urbanization and a green corridor do not impact genetic divergence in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urbanization and a green corridor do not impact genetic divergence in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) |
| title_short | Urbanization and a green corridor do not impact genetic divergence in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) |
| title_sort | urbanization and a green corridor do not impact genetic divergence in common milkweed asclepias syriaca l |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47524-8 |
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