Data from: Resurrected seeds from herbarium specimens reveal rapid evolution of drought resistance in a selfing annual

Premise of study: Increased aridity and drought associated with climate
change are exerting unprecedented selection pressures on plant
populations. Whether populations can rapidly adapt, and which life history
traits might confer increased fitness under drought, remain outstanding
questions.  Methods: We utilized a resurrection ecology approach,
leveraging dormant seeds from herbarium collections to assess whether
populations of Plantago patagonica from the semi-arid Colorado Plateau
have rapidly evolved in response to approximately ten years of intense
drought in the region. We quantified multiple traits associated with
drought escape and drought resistance and assessed the survival of
ancestors and descendants under simulated drought.  Key Results:
Descendant populations displayed a significant shift in resource
allocation, in which they invested less in reproductive tissues and
relatively more in both above- and below-ground vegetative tissues. Plants
with greater leaf biomass survived longer under terminal drought;
moreover, even after accounting for the effect of increased leaf biomass,
descendant seedlings survived drought longer than their
ancestors.  Conclusions: Our results document rapid adaptive
evolution in response to climate change in a selfing annual and suggest
that shifts in tissue allocation strategies may underlie adaptive
responses to drought in arid or semi-arid environments. This work also
illustrates a novel approach, documenting that under specific
circumstances, seeds from herbarium specimens may provide an untapped
source of dormant propagules for future resurrection experiments.