Phenotypic plasticity and water availability: responses of alpine herb species along an elevation gradient

Table 3 Selection gradient analysis on the paired dataset of trait plasticity and relative fitness on traits which displayed significant treatment responses for; A) Aciphylla glacialis, B) Oreomyrrhis eriopoda and C) Wahlenbergia ceracea

Species	β	P value	N
A) A. glacialis
Root Mass Ratio	0.01	0.940	23
Leaf Size	−0.08	0.532	21
Stomatal Conductance	−0.25	0.031	22
% N	0.92	0.477	11
B) O. eriopoda
Leaf Mass Ratio	−0.05	0.420	53
Leaf Size	0.18	0.157	51
% N	−0.18	0.016	16
Total Leaf Count	0.12	0.036	63
Water Use Efficiency	0.11	0.247	30
C) W. ceracea
Photosynthesis	0.11	0.063	34
Root Mass Ratio	0.00	0.996	51
High Elev	0.12	0.234	29
Low Elev	−0.06	0.592	22
Stomatal Conductance	0.03	0.650	28
High Elev	0.03	0.527	16
Low Elev	0.03	0.838	12
Total Leaf Count	−0.06	0.126	58
High Elev	−0.09	0.023	29
Low Elev	−0.03	0.639	29
δ ¹³c	−0.13	0.654	16
High Elev	−0.18	0.966	8
Low Elev	−0.20	0.443	8

Selection differentials were calculated combining data from plants of different elevations. In cases where elevation effects were significant (Figs. 1 and 2), additional analyses were performed for data from plants of the different elevations separately. Positive selection differentials indicate adaptive responses, while negative values indicate maladaptive responses. Significant responses are indicated by bolded p-value. n = number of pairs within each analysis

ISSN: 2053-7565