Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Plasticity In A Changing World: Phenotypic Variability In Boechera Stricta Across Space And Time, Caroline Daws

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

While some plants are mobile and able to physically distribute to more suitable environments, other plants have limited dispersal ability and must find alternate ways to adjust to changing conditions in situ through adaptation or plasticity. Predicted changes in abiotic pressures, including drought stress and warmer temperatures, may influence the phenotypic expression of traits in plant populations through these mechanisms. In this study, we used a reciprocal transplant approach to investigate the temporal and spatial patterns of plasticity in a native perennial mustard, Boechera stricta, in the Rocky Mountains. Specifically, we explore how a temporal gradient that reflects drought stress …