A transcontinental experiment elucidates (mal)adaptation of a cosmopolitan plant to climate in space and time

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Hauptverfasser: Albano, Lucas, Bastias, Cristina, Estarague, Aurélien, Hendrickson, Brandon, Innes, Simon, King, Nevada, Patterson, Courtney, Tudoran, Amelia, Vasseur, François, Puentes, Adriana, Violle, Cyrille, Kooyers, Nicholas, Johnson, Marc
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Veröffentlicht: Zenodo 2025
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author Albano, Lucas
Bastias, Cristina
Estarague, Aurélien
Hendrickson, Brandon
Innes, Simon
King, Nevada
Patterson, Courtney
Tudoran, Amelia
Vasseur, François
Puentes, Adriana
Violle, Cyrille
Kooyers, Nicholas
Johnson, Marc
author_facet Albano, Lucas
Bastias, Cristina
Estarague, Aurélien
Hendrickson, Brandon
Innes, Simon
King, Nevada
Patterson, Courtney
Tudoran, Amelia
Vasseur, François
Puentes, Adriana
Violle, Cyrille
Kooyers, Nicholas
Johnson, Marc
contents <p>Climate change and the global spread of non-native species are two of the most significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystem function. Both these phenomena subject populations to novel conditions, either in space (species introductions) or in time (climate change), yet the role of adaptation in how populations respond to these rapid environmental shifts is poorly understood.  We conducted a large-scale trans-continental common garden experiment using white clover (<em>Trifolium repens</em>, Fabaceae) to test whether adaptive evolution to spatiotemporal variation in climate could contribute to the ecological success of one of the most widespread plant species in the world. Individuals from 96 populations of <em>Trifolium repens</em> (white clover) from both its native (Europe) and introduced (North America) ranges were planted into four experimental common gardens located in northern (Uppsala, Sweden) and southern (Montpellier, France) Europe, and northern (Mississauga, Canada) and southern (Lafayette, USA) North America. We recorded plant sexual and clonal fitness in each common garden and assessed whether the strength of local adaptation differed between the native and introduced ranges and whether populations are rapidly adapting to climate change. Results show that local adaptation was only evident when populations were transplanted into common gardens located in the same range (native or introduced) from which they originated and was driven by stronger selection (due to climatic factors rather than herbivory) at lower latitudes in both ranges. Our results indicate rapid local adaptation across a large latitudinal gradient in introduced <em>T. repens</em> populations, along with an associated adaptation cost when transplanted back into the native range. We also find evidence of an adaptation lag in the northern common garden in the introduced range, with plants from historically warmer climates exhibiting the greatest fitness. These findings support two major conclusions: 1) white clover can rapidly adapt to spatial variation in climate in its introduced range as well as the native range, and 2) despite rapid adaptation to novel environments, introduced white clover populations are not keeping pace with rapid climate change. Overall, our results provide insight into the role of adaptation in facilitating the ecological success of non-native species in a rapidly changing world.</p>
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id zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_17056843
institution Zenodo
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publishDate 2025
publisher Zenodo
record_format zenodo
spellingShingle A transcontinental experiment elucidates (mal)adaptation of a cosmopolitan plant to climate in space and time
Albano, Lucas
Bastias, Cristina
Estarague, Aurélien
Hendrickson, Brandon
Innes, Simon
King, Nevada
Patterson, Courtney
Tudoran, Amelia
Vasseur, François
Puentes, Adriana
Violle, Cyrille
Kooyers, Nicholas
Johnson, Marc
Ecology
Evolutionary biology
Evolutionary ecology
Evolutionary adaptation
Climate change
Invasive species
Species interactions
Plant science
Plant defenses
<p>Climate change and the global spread of non-native species are two of the most significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystem function. Both these phenomena subject populations to novel conditions, either in space (species introductions) or in time (climate change), yet the role of adaptation in how populations respond to these rapid environmental shifts is poorly understood.  We conducted a large-scale trans-continental common garden experiment using white clover (<em>Trifolium repens</em>, Fabaceae) to test whether adaptive evolution to spatiotemporal variation in climate could contribute to the ecological success of one of the most widespread plant species in the world. Individuals from 96 populations of <em>Trifolium repens</em> (white clover) from both its native (Europe) and introduced (North America) ranges were planted into four experimental common gardens located in northern (Uppsala, Sweden) and southern (Montpellier, France) Europe, and northern (Mississauga, Canada) and southern (Lafayette, USA) North America. We recorded plant sexual and clonal fitness in each common garden and assessed whether the strength of local adaptation differed between the native and introduced ranges and whether populations are rapidly adapting to climate change. Results show that local adaptation was only evident when populations were transplanted into common gardens located in the same range (native or introduced) from which they originated and was driven by stronger selection (due to climatic factors rather than herbivory) at lower latitudes in both ranges. Our results indicate rapid local adaptation across a large latitudinal gradient in introduced <em>T. repens</em> populations, along with an associated adaptation cost when transplanted back into the native range. We also find evidence of an adaptation lag in the northern common garden in the introduced range, with plants from historically warmer climates exhibiting the greatest fitness. These findings support two major conclusions: 1) white clover can rapidly adapt to spatial variation in climate in its introduced range as well as the native range, and 2) despite rapid adaptation to novel environments, introduced white clover populations are not keeping pace with rapid climate change. Overall, our results provide insight into the role of adaptation in facilitating the ecological success of non-native species in a rapidly changing world.</p>
title A transcontinental experiment elucidates (mal)adaptation of a cosmopolitan plant to climate in space and time
topic Ecology
Evolutionary biology
Evolutionary ecology
Evolutionary adaptation
Climate change
Invasive species
Species interactions
Plant science
Plant defenses
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17056843