Trait dimensionality explains widespread variation in local adaptation

All species are locked in a continual struggle to adapt to local ecological conditions. In cases where species fail to locally adapt, they face reduced population growth rates, or even local extinction. Traditional explanations for limited local adaptation focus on maladaptive gene flow or homogeneo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2015-03, Vol.282 (1802), p.20141570-20141570
Main Authors: MacPherson, Ailene, Hohenlohe, Paul A., Nuismer, Scott L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Physiological - genetics
Animals
Ecological Differentiation
Ecological Genetics
Gene Flow
Genetic Variation
Genetics, Population
Humans
Models, Genetic
Phenotype
Population Dynamics
Reciprocal Transplant
Species Range
Transplant Experiment
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Summary:All species are locked in a continual struggle to adapt to local ecological conditions. In cases where species fail to locally adapt, they face reduced population growth rates, or even local extinction. Traditional explanations for limited local adaptation focus on maladaptive gene flow or homogeneous environmental conditions. These classical explanations have, however, failed to explain variation in the magnitude of local adaptation observed across taxa. Here we show that variable levels of local adaptation are better explained by trait dimensionality. First, we develop and analyse mathematical models that predict levels of local adaptation will increase with the number of traits experiencing spatially variable selection. Next, we test this prediction by estimating the relationship between dimensionality and local adaptation using data from 35 published reciprocal transplant studies. This analysis reveals a strong correlation between dimensionality and degree of local adaptation, and thus provides empirical support for the predictions of our model.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.2014.1570