Showing papers by "Renée M. Bekker published in 2014"
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University of La Réunion1, Centre national de la recherche scientifique2, Macquarie University3, University of Western Sydney4, University of Minnesota5, University of Milan6, National University of Cordoba7, James Hutton Institute8, University of Insubria9, Institut national de la recherche agronomique10, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic11, Stockholm University12, University of Coimbra13, Tel Aviv University14, University of Sheffield15, University of Oldenburg16, Joseph Fourier University17, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki18, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire19
TL;DR: The evolutionary history of LMA is painted, revealing the coordination of leaf trait evolution with growth forms in response to varying selection regimes, and different optimal phenotypes evolved among large clades within which extremes tended to be selected against.
Abstract: In plant leaves, resource use follows a trade-off between rapid resource capture and conservative storage. This “worldwide leaf economics spectrum” consists of a suite of intercorrelated leaf traits, among which leaf mass per area, LMA, is one of the most fundamental as it indicates the cost of leaf construction and light-interception borne by plants. We conducted a broad-scale analysis of the evolutionary history of LMA across a large dataset of 5401 vascular plant species. The phylogenetic signal in LMA displayed low but significant conservatism, that is, leaf economics tended to be more similar among close relatives than expected by chance alone. Models of trait evolution indicated that LMA evolved under weak stabilizing selection. Moreover, results suggest that different optimal phenotypes evolved among large clades within which extremes tended to be selected against. Conservatism in LMA was strongly related to growth form, as were selection intensity and phenotypic evolutionary rates: woody plants showed higher conservatism in relation to stronger stabilizing selection and lower evolutionary rates compared to herbaceous taxa. The evolutionary history of LMA thus paints different evolutionary trajectories of vascular plant species across clades, revealing the coordination of leaf trait evolution with growth forms in response to varying selection regimes.
45 citations