Working Group
When a seed germinates determines the seasonal environment experienced by a plant throughout its life, and germination phenology is one of the very first phenotypes expressed by plants during ontogeny. As such, germination phenology is subject to extremely strong natural selection, especially during early stages of adaptation. Moreover, germination co-evolves with seed dispersal, mating system, and reproductive strategy to determine plant life cycles and demographic dynamics of plant populations. This working group will test the importance of germination adaptations in delimiting species niche and range limits, both in the past and in response to changed environments. More generally, this topic pertains to the identification of key traits associated with adaptation to environmental change, and the role that early life-stage traits and traits associated with habitat selection contribute to these dynamics. The focus on germination provides a clear and tractable system for addressing general evolutionary and ecological questions concerning the interactions between ontogeny and adaptation, trait coevolution, and the roles of habitat selection and organismal responses to their environment in niche evolution. It also will contribute tangibly to efforts to predict plant responses to environmental change. The group will compile and analyze a comprehensive data set on germination and dormancy, combined with data on niche breadth, geographic range, and life history, in order to test hypotheses concerning trait coevolution and species range limits. The group will also theoretically explore interactions between ontogeny and adaptation, theoretically model trait coevolution via habitat selection and bet hedging, and develop phenological models of integrated life histories that include germination in order to predict plant responses to environmental change.
Germination, trait coevolution, and niche limits in changing environments
PI(s): | Kathleen Donohue (Duke University) Rafael F Rubio de Casas (Duke University) |
Start Date: | 1-Nov-2009 |
End Date: | 31-Oct-2011 |
Keywords: |
When a seed germinates determines the seasonal environment experienced by a plant throughout its life, and germination phenology is one of the very first phenotypes expressed by plants during ontogeny. As such, germination phenology is subject to extremely strong natural selection, especially during early stages of adaptation. Moreover, germination co-evolves with seed dispersal, mating system, and reproductive strategy to determine plant life cycles and demographic dynamics of plant populations. This working group will test the importance of germination adaptations in delimiting species niche and range limits, both in the past and in response to changed environments. More generally, this topic pertains to the identification of key traits associated with adaptation to environmental change, and the role that early life-stage traits and traits associated with habitat selection contribute to these dynamics. The focus on germination provides a clear and tractable system for addressing general evolutionary and ecological questions concerning the interactions between ontogeny and adaptation, trait coevolution, and the roles of habitat selection and organismal responses to their environment in niche evolution. It also will contribute tangibly to efforts to predict plant responses to environmental change. The group will compile and analyze a comprehensive data set on germination and dormancy, combined with data on niche breadth, geographic range, and life history, in order to test hypotheses concerning trait coevolution and species range limits. The group will also theoretically explore interactions between ontogeny and adaptation, theoretically model trait coevolution via habitat selection and bet hedging, and develop phenological models of integrated life histories that include germination in order to predict plant responses to environmental change.
Related products
Publications- Maternal effects alter natural selection on phytochromes through seed germination Donohue, K., Barua, D., Butler, C., Tisdale, T. E., Chiang, G. C. K., Dittmar, E. and Rubio de Casas, R. (2012), Maternal effects alter natural selection on phytochromes through seed germination. Journal of Ecology, 100: 750â757. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2012.01954.x
- Seed after-ripening and dormancy determine adult life history independently of germination timing Rubio de Casas, R. (2012). Seed after-ripening and dormancy determine adult life history independently of germination timing. New Phytologist, 194(3), 868-879.
- Sun and shade leaves of Olea europaea respond differently to plant size, light availability and genetic variation Rafael R. de Casas, Pablo Vargas, Esther Pérez-Corona, Esteban Manrique, Carlos GarcÃa-Verdugo and Luis Balaguer 2011 Sun and shade leaves of Olea europaea respond differently to plant size, light availability and genetic variation, Functional Ecology, volume 25, issue 4, pp. 802-812
- Germination, post-germination adaptation, and species ecological ranges. Donohue, K., R. Rubio de Casas, Liana Burghardt, Katherine Kovach, Charles Willis. 2010. Germination, post-germination adaptation, and species ecological ranges. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, Vol. 41: 293-319
- K. Donohue, J. Schmitt, PIs; Amity Wilczek Co-PI. 2010-2014. Collaborative research: Integrating genetically informed models of germination and flowering to predict life history responses to changing climateâ NSF-DEB
- Kathleen Donohue (Plenary Speaker), June 2010, "Interactions across seed and adult life stages: ecological and evolutionary consequences," Seed Ecology III Meetings, Salt Lake City, Utah