Climate Change Affects Boechera stricta Genotypes Through Local Maladaptation

Abstract

As environments continue to change, plant communities will increasingly be pressured to adapt to their environment to maintain fitness levels. The most common release of climatic stressor result in range shifts and changes in phenology for plants. Boechera stricta, a perennial forb native to a range of elevations in the Rocky Mountains in the western United States, has been study species for adaptation responses from climate change. Already, it has been documented that local maladaptation has occurred for this wild mustard species. Low elevation species adapted B. stricta was recorded to do better along an entire elevation gradient than its locally adapted counterparts. This study inquires if, by manipulating snowfall to mimic historic levels, we can reverse the maladaptation in B. stricta, and see locally adapted mustards do better than either high or low adapted genotypes. We found that we were able to restore local adaptation of B. stricta for all sites in our snow addition treatment. In addition, we saw a continued shift in optimum source elevation to lower elevation genotypes. However, with notably high mortality rates among all gardens on all treatments, more than one climatic factor needs to be changed for there to be any lasting impact on these local adaptations.

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