Biology subjects

Enquist, B. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Enquist, B. J..

18 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Challenges and opportunities in detecting leaf water and carotenoid content across biomes from satellite multispectral indices

Climate change is causing vegetation stress across the globe, increasing the need for reliable indicators to monitor plant health. Leaf water and carotenoid content, and the chlorophyll/carotenoid ratio, are established proxies for environmental stress that can be detected by remote sensing. Here, we evaluated the sensitivity of 11 multispectral vegetation indices (VIs) designed to monitor these three stress-related leaf traits across a broad range of environmental and vegetation conditions. For this, we combined radiative transfer modeling with cross-biome field and satellite observations from Sentinel-2, Landsat 8, and MODIS from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), spanning in most major terrestrial ecosystems. Our model-based analysis showed that VIs have a low to moderate sensitivity to their target traits, ranging from water indices with 66% of their variability explained by leaf water content, to carotenoid indices with 27% variability explained by leaf carotenoid content. Surprisingly, our field-based analyses revealed minimal to no sensitivity to leaf water and carotenoid content and chlorophyll/carotenoid ratio across all VIs. In contrast, we showed that leaf area index was the dominant driver of all studied VIs, accounting for 54-74 % of their variability in the field-based analysis. Lastly, we detected that VI[s] sensitivity to atmospheric conditions and field sampling issues contribute to their low performance in validating ground truth observations. These findings show that improvements in the VIs formulation and field sampling strategies are needed to increase the reliability of vegetation stress monitoring from multispectral satellites and support a generalized use of VIs across ecosystems. Highlights: 3-5 bullet points, 85 characters[bullet] Sensitivity of water and carotenoid multispectral indices was evaluated [bullet]Analysis based on cross-biome field data and radiative transfer models [bullet]Field data showed indices had minimal sensitivity to leaf water and carotenoid [bullet]Leaf area index explained most cross-biome variation in water and carotenoid indices [bullet]We propose strategies to improve stress-related index formulation and validation

ecology↗

bioRxiv2025

Phylogenetic diversity and species diversity are decoupled under experimental warming and cooling in Rocky Mountain plant communities

AimNearly 8% of species could go extinct from climate change; many organisms are already experiencing declines in abundance, local extinction, and range shifts. How such changes impact community diversity is an open question in most systems. Whether changes in phylogenetic diversity parallel those in traditional diversity metrics is also often unknown. We used experimentally transplanted plant communities to ask how different aspects of community diversity change with environmental factors across elevation, and whether phylogenetic relationships predict individual species responses to change. LocationWe experimentally transplanted subalpine plant communities down and upslope across 400 m of elevation at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Gothic, CO, USA, to simulate climate warming and cooling. MethodsWe identified how experimental warming and cooling impacted community diversity by testing for differences in species richness, Shannon diversity, and phylogenetic diversity among transplant treatments. We tested for phylogenetic signal in each species change in percent cover among treatments. Finally, we assessed if aspects of species rarity (and thus their putative extinction risk) predicted post-transplant change independently or in addition to their phylogenetic relationship within the community. ResultsWe found that species richness and Shannon diversity decreased in cooled treatments and increased in some warmed treatments. In contrast, phylogenetic diversity increased in the cooled treatment and did not change in the warmed treatments. Individual species changes in response to warming and cooling were not correlated with phylogeny or aspects of rarity. Main conclusionsOur results suggest that species losses in cooled treatments are phylogenetically dispersed, increasing phylogenetic diversity, even as richness and Shannon diversity decline. Increasing richness and Shannon diversity in warmed treatments suggests that new species from across the phylogeny can colonize after transplantation, leading to stability in phylogenetic diversity under warming at this time scale, with further change likely as extinction debts are paid.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2025

Amazon biodiversity is at risk from metal contamination due to mining activity

The Amazon basin hosts the most biodiverse and intact ecosystems on Earth, yet human activities are an increasing threat. Metal contamination due to mining constitutes one of these major threats, but its impacts remain poorly quantified. We provide the first quantitative assessment of biodiversity exposure to mining-associated metals--mercury [Hg], arsenic [As], copper [Cu], Zinc [Zn], and lead [Pb]--across the Amazon. Around 66% of the Amazons 38,890 species of birds, plants, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes are exposed to metal contamination, including biodiversity hotspots and Indigenous territories. Safeguarding the Amazons role as a global reservoir of biodiversity, ecosystem function, and cultural heritage requires addressing metal contamination not only as a localized issue, but as a pervasive threat to global biodiversity.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2024

Rare species do not disproportionately contribute to phylogenetic diversity in a subalpine plant community

Premise of the studyWorldwide, 36% of all plant species are exceedingly rare, and are at the highest risk of extinction. Extinction risk has also been observed to be phylogenetically clustered, threatening the loss of lineages that contribute unique evolutionary diversity to communities. Rare plants contributions to phylogenetic diversity are largely unknown, however. We investigate whether rare species (as measured by local abundance and range size) contribute disproportionately to phylogenetic diversity in a subalpine plant community. MethodsWe collected abundance data at three sites in Washington Gulch near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL, Gothic, Colorado, USA) in 2021 and 2022. We then calculated range size for each species. We calculated phylogenetic signal for abundance and range size, compared community phylogenetic metrics weighted by range size and abundance to unweighted metrics, and quantified the change in phylogenetic diversity when removing single species and groups of species ranked by rarity. Key resultsWe found phylogenetic signal for abundance, but not range size. There was no difference between rarity-weighted and unweighted phylogenetic diversity metrics. Finally, phylogenetic diversity did not decline more when we removed single rare species and groups of rare species than when we removed single common species and groups of common species. ConclusionsOverall, we found that rare species do not disproportionately contribute to phylogenetic diversity. This suggests that rare species likely provide phylogenetic redundancy with common species, and losing rare species may not cause disproportionate drops in phylogenetic diversity in this system.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2024

Improved tests for the origin of allometric scaling across tree architectures

The scaling of organismal metabolic rates with body size is one of the most prominent empirical patterns in biology. For over a century, the nature and causes of metabolic scaling have been the subject of much focus and debate. West, Brown, and Enquist (WBE) proposed a general model for the origin of metabolic scaling from branching vascular networks. However, recent empirical tests of WBE vascular scaling predictions in plants and animals have reported deviations caused by variability in network geometry. After clarifying the core assumptions of the WBE model, we revisit the methods and conclusions of recent tests conducted in trees, finding support for key WBE predictions in woody plant architecture. To do this, we apply an approach that better captures: i) network branching self-similarity and ii) leaf area as a proxy of plant metabolic capacity. The WBE model also predicts curvature in metabolic scaling in smaller organisms, and we introduce a novel method that accounts for curvature in plant branching geometry. Together, these advances allow more direct measurements of metabolic scaling than previous work, and we apply them to a dataset of diverse laser-scanned tree architectures. Analyses reveal the predicted interspecific [3/4] metabolic scaling across tree crowns, with intraspecific variation within individual tree crowns. Scaling variability is consistent with WBE predictions for curvature from asymptotic growth and underlying variation in branching geometry. We conclude that linking fine-scale branching variation to metabolic scaling allometries remains a challenge, while our results support the foundational hypotheses of the WBE model. Author summaryTrees survive in a variety of habitats and lifestyles across Earth. They are also characterized by a stunning array of sizes and shapes that make trees objects of vast cultural, economic, and ecological importance. At the same time, the need to link vascular plant function with traits and environment is more pressing than ever. Size (body mass) is fundamentally linked to plant functioning within ecosystems through allometric relationships. Allometric relationships emerge from the geometry of branch networks in trees, which are increasingly well-characterized with remote-sensing data. We use a dataset of laser-scanned tree crowns to test allometric predictions that link size to key traits, particularly metabolic capacity, understood as total leaf area. Our results indicate that i) scanning technology can provide accurate assessments of branch allometry with proper data preparation, and ii) studying branch allometries provides an organizing framework for interpreting natural variation in tree architecture.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2024

Tree Surface Area Allometry

Utilizing terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and three-dimensional modeling, this study quantitatively assessed the woody surface areas of 2161 trees across ecosystems encompassing both tropical and temperate forests. TLS enables precise measurement of tree structures at unprecedented scales. This research builds on theoretical scaling relationships with empirical data, significantly refining our understanding of tree woody surface area. Key findings indicate that direct measurements diverge from theoretical predictions, particularly in the finer branch structures, suggesting modifications to existing allometric models might be necessary. This integration of direct measurements with TLS not only challenges established theories but also enhances our capability to accurately model tree surface area, which is key for understanding forest carbon dynamics and metabolic scaling in ecological systems.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2023

Phylogenetic diversity of flowering plants declines throughout the growing season across a subalpine elevational gradient

Phylogenetic diversity is an important axis of biodiversity associated with many ecosystem functions, but its variation over time in temperate communities has rarely been explored. Plants flowering phenology is key for reproduction: it determines synchrony among plants, mutualists, antagonists, and favorable environmental conditions. Individual species flowering phenologies combine to determine which species flowers co-occur in time and space to form co-flowering communities. We recorded plants flowering phenology across elevations in the Colorado Rocky Mountains and predicted: 1) flowering species will form subsets of co-flowering species, 2) groups of co-flowering species will be more distantly related than the broader community, 3) marginal early and late season conditions will constrain flowering to species groups that are less phylogenetically diverse and 4) the entire community will have higher phylogenetic diversity at higher elevations. We identified co-flowering groups using a network analysis and quantified their phylogenetic diversity. Co-flowering communities had higher phylogenetic diversity early in the season and at higher elevations, but became less diverse by all metrics at the end of the season across elevations. Our results indicate that phylogenetic diversity varies consistently across the season and that conditions in the late season and at low elevations might constrain diversity.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

Geographic Name Resolution Service: A tool for the standardization and indexing of world political division names, with applications to species distribution modeling

Massive biological databases of species occurrences, or georeferenced locations where a species has been observed, are essential inputs for modeling present and future species distributions. Location accuracy is often assessed by determining whether the observation geocoordinates fall within the boundaries of the declared political divisions. This otherwise simple validation is complicated by the difficulty of matching political division names to the correct geospatial object. Spelling errors, abbreviations, alternative codes, and synonyms in multiple languages present daunting name disambiguation challenges. The inability to resolve political division names reduces usable data and analysis of erroneous observations can lead to flawed results. Here, we present the Geographic Name Resolution Service (GNRS), an application for the correction, standardization and indexing of world political division names. The GNRS resolves political division names against a reference database that combines names and codes from GeoNames with geospatial object identifiers from the Global Administrative Areas Database (GADM). In a trial resolution of political division names extracted from >270 million species occurrences, only 1.9%, representing just 6% of occurrences, matched exactly to GADM political divisions in their original form. The GNRS was able to resolve, completely or in part, 92% of the remaining 378,568 political division names, or 86% of the full biodiversity occurrence dataset. In an assessment of geocoordinate accuracy for >239 million species occurrences, resolution of political divisions by the GNRS enabled detection of an order of magnitude more errors and an order of magnitude more error-free occurrences. By providing a novel solution to a major data quality impediment, the GNRS liberates a tremendous amount of biodiversity data for quantitative biodiversity research. The GNRS runs as a web service and can be accessed via an API, an R package, and a web-based graphical user interface. Its modular architecture is easily integrated into existing data validation workflows.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2022

Fiber-parenchyma trade-off underlies changes in tropical forest structure and xylem architecture across a soil water gradient

O_LIWood anatomical traits can underpin tropical forest structural and functional changes across soil water gradients and therefore could improve our mechanistic understanding of how plants adapt to environmental change. C_LIO_LIWe assessed how the variation in the forest maximum height (Hmax), stem diameter, and wood density (WD) is associated with variation in xylem traits (area of fibers and parenchyma, conductive area [CondA, sum of all vessels lumens], vessel lumen area [VLA], vessel density [VD], and vessel wall reinforcement [VWR]) across 42 plots of a Brazilian Atlantic Forest habitat that span strong soil water gradients. C_LIO_LIWe found that in wetter communities, greater height and lower WD were associated with greater parenchyma area (capacitance), and lower fibers, VD, VWR. Contrastingly, in drier communities, lower height was associated with higher fiber area (xylem reinforcement), WD, VD, and VWR, while parenchyma area and vessels are reduced. C_LIO_LITree communities vary from conservative resource-use and structurally dependent hydraulic safety (Fibers) to acquisitive resource-use and capacitance dependent hydraulic safety (parenchyma). Such a fiber-parenchyma trade-off (FPT) underlies the variation in tree height across a soil water gradient. Wood anatomy is fundamental to understanding and predicting the impacts of environmental change on forest structure. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

Source range phylogenetic community structure can predict the outcome of avian introductions

Competing phylogenetic models have been proposed to explain the success of species introduced to other communities. Here, we present a study predicting the establishment success of birds introduced to Florida, Hawaii, and New Zealand using several alternative models, considering species phylogenetic relatedness to source and recipient range taxa, propagule pressure, and traits. We find consistent support for the predictive ability of source region phylogenetic structure. However, we find that the effects of recipient region phylogenetic structure vary in sign and magnitude depending on inclusion of source region phylogenetic structure, delineation of the recipient species pool, and the use of phylogenetic correction in the models. We argue that tests of alternative phylogenetic hypotheses including the both source and recipient community phylogenetic structure, as well as important covariates such as propagule pressure, are likely to be critical for identifying general phylogenetic patterns in introduction success, predicting future invasions, and for stimulating further exploration of the underlying mechanisms of invasibility.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Quaternary climate change explains global patterns of tree beta-diversity

Both historical and contemporary environmental conditions determine present biodiversity patterns, but their relative importance is not well understood. One way to disentangle their relative effects is to assess how different dimensions of beta-diversity relate to past climatic changes, i.e., taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional compositional dissimilarity, and their components generated by replacement of species, lineages and traits (turnover) and richness changes (nestedness). Here, we quantify global patterns of each of these aspects of beta-diversity among neighboring sites for angiosperm trees using the most extensive global database of tree species-distributions (43,635 species). We found that temperature change since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was the major influence on both turnover and nestedness components of beta-diversity, with a negative correlation to turnover and a positive correlation to nestedness. Moreover, phylogenetic and functional nestedness was higher than expected from taxonomic beta-diversity in regions that experienced large temperature changes since the LGM. This pattern reflects relatively greater losses of phylogenetic and functional diversity in species-poor assemblages, possibly caused by phylogenetically and functionally selective species extinction and recolonization during glacial-interglacial oscillations. Our results send a strong warning that rapid anthropogenic climate change is likely to result in a long-lasting phylogenetic and functional compositional simplification, potentially impairing forest ecosystem functioning.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Life history scaling and the division of energy in forests

The competition for light has long been regarded as a key axis of niche partitioning that promotes forest diversity, but available evidence is contradictory. Despite strong tradeoffs between growth and survival with light, field tests suggest neutral forces govern tree composition across forest gaps and resource use across size classes. Here we integrate scaling and niche theory, and use data from >114,000 woody plants in a tropical, old growth forest to test and predict patterns of niche partitioning with size and light. Consistent with predictions, the relative abundance, production, light capture, and richness of species in life histories with fast growth follow a power law relationship, increasing 1-2 orders of magnitude along a solar and size gradient. Competitive neutrality between size classes emerges above the sapling layer, where increasing access to light is counterbalanced by stronger self-shading. Convergent power law patterns of resource partitioning across taxa and spatial scale suggest general life history tradeoffs drive the organization of diverse communities.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Areas of global importance for terrestrial biodiversity, carbon, and water

Summary paragraphTo meet the ambitious objectives of biodiversity and climate conventions, countries and the international community require clarity on how these objectives can be operationalized spatially, and multiple targets be pursued concurrently1. To support governments and political conventions, spatial guidance is needed to identify which areas should be managed for conservation to generate the greatest synergies between biodiversity and natures contribution to people (NCP). Here we present results from a joint optimization that maximizes improvements in species conservation status, carbon retention and water provisioning and rank terrestrial conservation priorities globally. We found that, selecting the top-ranked 30% (respectively 50%) of areas would conserve 62.4% (86.8%) of the estimated total carbon stock and 67.8% (90.7%) of all clean water provisioning, in addition to improving the conservation status for 69.7% (83.8%) of all species considered. If priority was given to biodiversity only, managing 30% of optimally located land area for conservation may be sufficient to improve the conservation status of 86.3% of plant and vertebrate species on Earth. Our results provide a global baseline on where land could be managed for conservation. We discuss how such a spatial prioritisation framework can support the implementation of the biodiversity and climate conventions.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Global shortfalls in extinction risk assessments for endemic flora

The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) ambitiously calls for an assessment of extinction risk for all recognised plant taxa by 20201. It is now clear that this target will not be met in the short-term; only 21-26% of known plant species have been assessed2 - a monumental shortfall in anticipated knowledge. Yet the need for risk assessments has never been more urgent. Plants are rapidly going extinct3,4 and face threats such as climate change5 and permanent deforestation6. Extinction risk assessments continue to provide the critical foundation to inform protection, management and recovery of plant species7,8, the loss of which will have clear consequences for maintaining planetary systems and human well-being9. Here, we rank countries of the world based on progress towards assessing the extinction risk to their endemic flora. Overall, 67% of country-based endemic species do not have an extinction risk assessment completed (143,294 species). We show that some of the worlds wealthiest nations, which also have relatively strong species protections, are failing to protect their unique flora by not systematically assessing risks to their endemic species.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Assessing trait driver theory along abiotic gradients in a tropical plant communities

O_LIDespite the many studies using trait-based approaches to assess the impact of environmental gradients in forest trait composition, the relative roles of (i) intraspecific variation in community assembly and (ii) microclimatic or fine scale abiotic variation in shaping local trait diversity remain poorly understood. To advance their understanding we tested several assumptions and predictions of trait driver theory (TDT). We quantified the shape of trait distributions related to tree carbon, nutrient economics and stem hydraulics across a small-scale but steep gradient of soil water availability. C_LIO_LIWe utilized a unique and steep environmental gradient in the coastal Brazilian Atlantic forest (restinga) communities that spans a very short distance (207 {+/-}60 meters). We collected leaf and wood samples of tree species across 42 patches (or plots) of restinga forest. Furthermore, to detect if species directionally shift in niche space, we analyzed species composition in multidimensional hypervolume space. C_LIO_LIDespite short geographic distances, we observed large shifts in species replacement and intraspecific variation reflected by a directional shift in plant function. Consistent with TDT, we observe (i) trait distributions that are skewed in directions consistent with a forest responding to recent hotter and drier; (ii) peaked trait distributions, indicating strong functional convergence; and (iii) conditions decreasing means and variances of several leaf carbon and nutrient economic traits as well as stem hydraulic traits. C_LIO_LISynthesis. Observed species replacements along the water table gradient and interspecific measures of functional diversity (community kurtosis and skewness) are consistent with strong phenotype/environmental matching of plant carbon, nutrient, and hydraulic strategies. We observe environmental filtering in both extremities of the gradient, selecting for acquisitive (wet) to conservative (dry) setup of traits. Similarly, species that span the entire water availability gradient are characterized by directional intraspecific shifts in multi-trait space that mirror interspecific shifts. Strong environmental gradients across short spatial scales provide unique systems to accurately assess assembly processes and address long-held assumptions and timely hypothesis predicted by trait driver theory. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Drivers of plant traits and forest functional composition in coastal plant communities of the Atlantic Forest

The severe deforestation of Brazils Atlantic Forest and increasing effects of climate change underscore the need to understand how tree species respond to climate and soil drivers. We studied 42 plots of coastal restinga forest, which is highly diverse and spans strong environmental gradients. We determined the forest physiognomy and functional composition, which are physical properties of a community that respond to climate and soil properties, to elucidate which factors drive community-level traits. To identify the most important environmental drivers of coastal Atlantic forest functional composition, we performed a forest inventory of all plants of diameter 5 cm and above. We collected wood samples and leaves from [~]85% of the most abundant plant species and estimated height, aboveground biomass (AGB), and basal area of individual plants, and the community-weighted specific leaf area (SLA). In addition to plant traits, we measured water table depth and 25 physicochemical soil parameters. We then parameterized several models for different hypotheses relating the roles of nutrients and soil to tropical forest diversity and functioning, as represented by plant traits. Hypotheses were formalized via generalized additive models and piecewise structural equation models. Water table depth, soil coarseness, potential acidity, sodium saturation index (SSI) and aluminum concentration were all components of the best models for AGB, height, basal area, and trait composition. Among the 25 environmental parameters measured, those related to water availability (water table depth and coarse sand), followed by potential acidity, SSI, and aluminum consistently emerged as the most important drivers of forest physiognomy and functional composition. Increases in water table depth, coarse sand, and soil concentration of aluminum negatively impacted all the measured functional traits, whereas SSI had a positive effect on AGB and plant height. These results suggest that sodium is not merely tolerated by Atlantic Forest restinga plant communities, but is important to their structure and functioning. Presence of aluminum in the soil had a complex relationship to overall basal area, possibly mediated by soil organic matter.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

THE INFLUENCE OF ECOSYSTEM AND PHYLOGENY ON TROPICAL TREE CROWN SIZE AND SHAPE

1The sizes and shapes of tree crowns are of fundamental importance in ecology, yet understanding the forces that determine them remains elusive. A cardinal question facing ecologists is the degree to which general and non-specific versus ecological and context-dependent processes are responsible for shaping tree crowns. Here, we test this question for the first time across diverse tropical ecosystems. Using trees from 20 plots varying in elevation, precipitation, and ecosystem type (savanna-forest transitions) across the paleo- and neo-tropics, we test the relationship between crown dimensions and tree size. By analyzing these scaling relationships across environmental gradients, biogeographic regions, and phylogenetic distance, we extend Metabolic Scaling Theory (MST) predictions to include how local selective pressures shape variation in crown dimensions. Across all sites, we find strong agreement between mean trends and MST predictions for the scaling of crown size and shape, but large variation around the mean. While MST explained approximately half of the observed variation in tree crown dimensions, we find that local, ecosystem, and phylogenetic predictors account for the half of the residual variation. Crown scaling does not change significantly across regions, but does change across ecosystem types, where savanna tree crowns grow more quickly with tree size than forest tree crowns. Crowns of legumes were wider and larger than those of other taxa. Thus, while MST can accurately describe the central tendency of tree crown size, local ecological conditions and evolutionary history appear to modify the scaling of crown shape. Importantly, our extension of MST incorporating these differences accounts for the mechanisms driving variation in the scaling of crown dimensions across the tropics. These results are critical when scaling the function of individual trees to larger spatial scales or incorporating the size and shape of tree crowns in global biogeochemical models.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2018

Adaptive diversification of growth allometry in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana

Seed plants vary tremendously in size and morphology. However, variation and covariation between plant traits may at least in part be governed by universal biophysical laws and biological constants. Metabolic Scaling Theory (MST) posits that whole-organismal metabolism and growth rate are under stabilizing selection that minimizes the scaling of hydrodynamic resistance and maximizes the scaling of resource uptake. This constrains variation in physiological traits and in the rate of biomass accumulation, so that they can be expressed as mathematical functions of plant size with near constant allometric scaling exponents across species. However, observed variation in scaling exponents questions the evolutionary drivers and the universality of allometric equations. We have measured growth scaling and fitness traits of 451 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions with sequenced genomes. Variation among accessions around the scaling exponent predicted by MST correlated with relative growth rate, seed production and stress resistance. Genomic analyses indicate that growth allometry is affected by many genes associated with local climate and abiotic stress response. The gene with the strongest effect, PUB4, has molecular signatures of balancing selection, suggesting that intraspecific variation in growth scaling is maintained by opposing selection on the trade-off between seed production and abiotic stress resistance. Our findings support a core MST prediction and suggest that variation in allometry contributes to local adaptation to contrasting environments. Our results help reconcile past debates on the origin of allometric scaling in biology, and begin to link adaptive variation in allometric scaling to specific genes.\n\nSignificance statementAre there biological constants unifying phenotypic diversity across scales? Metabolic Scaling Theory (MST) predicts mathematical regularity and constancy in the allometric scaling of growth rate with body size across species. Here, we show that adaptation to climate in Arabidopsis thaliana is associated with local strains that substantially deviate from the values predicted by MST. This deviation can be linked to increased stress tolerance at the expense of seed production, and it occurs through selection on genes that are involved in abiotic stress response and that are geographically correlated with climatic conditions. This highlights the evolutionary role of allometric diversification and helps establish the physiological bases of plant adaptation to contrasting environments.

ecology↗