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Phenological and morphological differentiation in annual Chaetanthera moenchioides (Asteraceae) over an aridity gradient

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Abstract

Flowering-time, plant longevity and size of capitulum were studied in a common garden experiment on seven populations of annual Chaetanthera moenchioides derived from a strong latitudinal aridity gradient in the mediterranean climate area of Chile. Populations derived from the drier northern part of the latitudinal gradient showed significantly shorter flowering and fruiting phenology and smaller capitula under uniform growing conditions. Water stress experiments performed in the greenhouse induced further phenological hastening and a reduction in number of ray florets per capitulum. Population differentiation and the reaction norms in C. moenchioides agree with the predictions of genetic-assimilation given that the plastic response of the species under water stress mimics phenotypic differentiation that has evolved along the environmental gradient.

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Acknowledgments

Work forms part of a Master’s thesis (Kester Bull-Hereñu) in the Ecology and Evolution Program, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile carried on FONDECYT Grant No. 1020956 and with support of Chilean Millennium Science Initiative Grant P02-051. We are grateful for helpful comments made on an early version of the manuscript by Irene Till-Bottraud and Ramiro Bustamante. We also thank the conceptual contributions made by Carlos Medina and Jorge Mpodozis and the language assistance given by Samuel Scurry.

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  1. Institut für Spezielle Botanik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, 55099, Mainz, Germany

    Kester Bull-Hereñu

  2. Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile

    Mary T. K. Arroyo

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  1. Kester Bull-Hereñu
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Correspondence to Kester Bull-Hereñu.

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Bull-Hereñu, K., Arroyo, M.T.K. Phenological and morphological differentiation in annual Chaetanthera moenchioides (Asteraceae) over an aridity gradient. Plant Syst Evol 278, 159–167 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-008-0126-8

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