Bromeliad populations perform distinct ecological strategies across a tropical elevation gradient

The effect of environmental gradients on the remarkable diversity of mountain-associated plants and on the species’ abilities to cope with climate change transcends species-specific strategies. For instance, our understanding of the impact of thermal gradients on ecological divergences in populations of widely distributed species is limited, although it could provide important insights regarding species’ response to climate change.
Here, we investigated whether populations of an endemic species broadly distributed across an elevation gradient employ unique or multiple divergent ecological strategies according to specific environmental conditions. We hypothesized that populations employ distinct strategies, producing a tolerance-avoidance trade-off related to the thermal conditions they experience across elevations.
We conducted our research with 125 individuals of Pitcairnia flammea (Bromeliaceae) sampled from various elevations spanning from sea level to ~2,200 meters and cultivated u..., Plant sampling
To characterize ecological strategies employed by distinct P. flammea populations, over two years, we collected ~20 individuals of P. flammea per population (according to population abundance) from eight localities along an elevation gradient from 0 to ~2,200 m a.s.l. (Fig. 2) for greenhouse cultivation, under the same environmental conditions. To acclimate the same genotype (genets) to warm and cold conditions for the thermal tolerance test (see the following subsection), we prioritized collecting individuals (i.e., genets) with at least two ramets. These genets were split and cultivated in a substrate mixture of equal parts of expanded clay and potting soil for at least one year in randomized blocks under sprinkler irrigation for five minutes, five times daily. The temperature inside the greenhouse during the cultivation averaged 19 °C, the air relative humidity averaged 57.7%, and the maximum photosynthetic photon flux density (PAR) was ~500 µmol m−2 s−1. Below, we out..., , This README file was generated on 2024-01-31 by Cleber Chaves.

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Title of Dataset: Bromeliad populations perform distinct ecological strategies across a tropical elevation gradient

1. Author Information
A. Principal Investigator Contact Information
Name: Cleber J. N. Chaves
Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Email:

B. Associate or Co-investigator Contact Information
Name: Clarisse Palma-Silva
Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Email:

2. Date of data collection (single date, range, approximate date): 2019-2023

3. Geographic location of data collection: Brazilian Atlantic Forest

4. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: FAPESP 2020/14805-4 FAPESP 2020/16696-8 FAPESP 2020/16696-8 FAPESP 2015/24351-2 FAPESP 2023/01800-2 FAPESP 2021/10639-5 CAPES 88887.361034/2019-00
CNPq 163094/2020-9 CNPq 308260/2021-0 CNPq 306662/2022-1 CNPq 304295/2022-1 CNPq 302962/2022
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