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Phenotypic selection on leaf functional traits of two congeneric species in a temperate rainforest is consistent with their shade tolerance

  • Physiological ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Several studies across species have linked leaf functional traits with shade tolerance. Because evolution by natural selection occurs within populations, in order to explain those interspecific patterns it is crucial to examine variation of traits associated with shade tolerance and plant fitness at an intraspecific scale. In a southern temperate rainforest, two climbing plant species coexist but differ in shade tolerance. Whereas Luzuriaga radicans is most abundant in the shaded understory, L. polyphylla typically occurs in intermediate light environments. We carried out an intraspecific approach to test the hypothesis of differential selection patterns in relation to shade tolerance in these congeneric species. The probability of showing reproductive structures increased with specific leaf area (SLA) in L. polyphylla, and decreased with dark respiration in L. radicans. When reproductive output of fertile individuals was the fitness variable, we detected positive directional selection on SLA in L. polyphylla, and negative directional selection on dark respiration and positive directional selection on leaf size in L. radicans. Total light radiation differed between the microsites where the Luzuriaga species were sampled in the old-growth forest understory. Accordingly, L. radicans had a lower minimum light requirement and showed fertile individuals in darker microsites. L. radicans showed lower dark respiration, higher chlorophyll content, and greater leaf size and SLA than L. polyphylla. Results suggest that in more shade-tolerant species, established in the darker microsites, selection would favor functional traits minimizing carbon losses, while in less shade-tolerant species, plants displaying leaf traits enhancing light capture would be selected.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Fernando Carrasco for his valuable help in the field. We thank Brooke Jacobs, Cristian Salgado and Rodrigo Ríos for thoughtful comments that improved earlier versions of the manuscript. We thank CONAF (National Forestry Corporation) for granting permits to work in Puyehue National Park. All research activities complied with Chilean law. This study was funded by FONDECYT grant 1070503. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Departamento de Biología, Universidad de La Serena, Casilla 554, La Serena, Chile

    Ernesto Gianoli

  2. Departamento de Botánica, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile

    Ernesto Gianoli & Alfredo Saldaña

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  1. Ernesto Gianoli
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  2. Alfredo Saldaña
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Correspondence to Ernesto Gianoli.

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Communicated by Fernando Valladares.

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Gianoli, E., Saldaña, A. Phenotypic selection on leaf functional traits of two congeneric species in a temperate rainforest is consistent with their shade tolerance. Oecologia 173, 13–21 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-013-2590-2

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