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Plasticity, Not Adaptation to Salt Level, Explains Variation Along a Salinity Gradient in a Salt Marsh Perennial

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Abstract

Evolutionary ecologists have long been intrigued by the fact that many plant species can inhabit a broad range of environmental conditions and that plants often exhibit dramatic differences in phenotype across environmental gradients. We investigated responses to salinity treatments in the salt marsh plant Borrichia frutescens to determine if the species is responding to variation in edaphic salt content through phenotypic plasticity or specialized trait response. We grew seedlings from fruits collected in high- and low-salt microhabitats, assigned seedlings to high- and low-salt treatments in a greenhouse, and measured traits related to salt tolerance. All traits were highly plastic in response to salinity. Plants from the two microhabitats did not differ in trait means or respond differently to the treatments. These results suggest that environmental differences between the two microhabitats are not creating genotypes adapted to high and low salt levels. In addition, despite evidence for variation in allozyme markers in this population, there was no significant genotypic variation (family effect) in any of the trait means measured across microhabitats. There was variation in plasticity for only leaf Na and leaf B concentration. The high degree of plasticity for all traits and the lack of differences among microhabitats across the salinity gradient suggest plasticity in many traits may be fixed for this species.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mike Boyd and Andy Tull for incomparable assistance with greenhouse work. We also thank Tracy Crocker, Janine Cousins, Lisa Lopes, Chris Smith, Jennifer Lance, Jill Johnston, David Rosenthal, Jason West, and Lynn Billard for assistance with harvesting, processing tissues, and data analysis. Regina Baucom, Oliver Bossdorf, Jim Hamrick, Norris Muth, Steve Pennings, Massimo Pigliucci and two anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments on the manuscript. We thank the Garden Club of America, the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve (SINERR, Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research (LTER, OCE 99-82133) for financial support. This is contribution number 981 from the University of Georgia Marine Institute.

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Author notes

  1. Christina L. Richards

    Present address: Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA

  2. Susan N. White

    Present address: Hollings Marine Laboratory and Center for Excellence in Oceans and Human Health, NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA

  3. Steven J. Franks

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, 2502 Miller Plant Sciences Building, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Christina L. Richards, Steven J. Franks & Lisa A. Donovan

  2. Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Susan N. White

  3. School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Mary Anne McGuire

  4. Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Rodney Mauricio

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  1. Christina L. Richards
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Correspondence to Christina L. Richards.

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Richards, C.L., White, S.N., McGuire, M.A. et al. Plasticity, Not Adaptation to Salt Level, Explains Variation Along a Salinity Gradient in a Salt Marsh Perennial. Estuaries and Coasts 33, 840–852 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-009-9186-4

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