Data from: Ontogenetic changes in the phenotypic integration and modularity of leaf functional traits

1.Changes in resource availability, functional demands, hormonal
regulation and developmental constraints can promote differences in the
expression of leaf traits during plant development and foster changes in
the targets of natural selection. As a consequence, the pattern and
magnitude of covariation among traits, and therefore their phenotypic
integration and modularity are equally expected to change throughout
ontogeny. However, these changes have not been described yet. 2.We
measured leaf economic, defensive and morphological traits in plants of
Turnera velutina and estimated the magnitude and pattern of foliar
integration and modularity for juvenile and reproductive individuals. In
addition, we assessed the relationship between plant biomass and foliar
integration within and among ontogenetic stages. 3.Both the pattern and
magnitude of foliar integration changed across plant ontogeny. Foliar
integration was lower in juvenile than in reproductive plants, and the
pattern of phenotypic integration and modularity was different between
ontogenetic stages: whereas leaves from juvenile plants showed two
functional modules related to plant defence and leaf economy, traits from
reproductive plants had greater interconnectivity and hence lower
modularity. 4.The relationship between plant biomass and foliar
integration was negative within each ontogenetic stage but positive
between ontogenetic stages, suggesting that processes intrinsic to plant
development influenced the magnitude of foliar integration to a greater
extent than plant size. 5.Our findings indicate that plants can change the
patterns of covariation among leaf traits during their development.
Whereas a lower foliar integration in juvenile plants could allow for
greater lability to explore a multi-trait phenotypic space, canalization
of leaf attributes along ontogeny should promote greater phenotypic
integration, constraining the number of multi-trait combinations that
plants can express. Hence, we suggest that ontogenetic changes in foliar
integration allow plants to deal with changing selective dynamics and
physiological priorities along their development.