DOI: 10.5061/dryad.pt7n3
title: Data from: Evidence of local adaptation to fine- and coarse-grained environmental variability in Poa alpina in the Swiss Alps

description: In the alpine landscape, characterized by high spatiotemporal
 heterogeneity and barriers, divergent selection is likely to lead to local
 adaptation of plant populations either through adaptive genetic
 differentiation or through phenotypic plasticity. The relative importance
 of these processes has rarely been investigated in relation to the spatial
 scale of environmental heterogeneity. In this study, we used reciprocal
 transplantation experiments of populations across nearby and distant field
 sites to shed light on these complementary processes. We reciprocally
 transplanted populations of the widespread alpine grass, Poa alpina,
 within and across regions in the Swiss Alps. We inferred local adaptation
 at the metapopulation level by comparing fitness of plants transplanted to
 their site of origin and to nearby or distant novel sites. Additionally,
 we measured specific leaf area (SLA) and performed selection analyses to
 investigate directional selection on mean trait value at each field site
 and on the degree of plasticity of this trait to assess whether plastic
 responses were adaptive. In parallel, all populations were genotyped with
 microsatellite markers to assess neutral molecular differentiation.
 Molecular differentiation was high among populations within and among
 regions, indicating restricted gene flow among P. alpina populations.
 Reproductive biomass was highest in individuals grown in their region of
 origin, revealing local adaptation to coarse-grained environmental
 variability. Similarly, inflorescence height, associated with reproductive
 biomass, reflected adaptation to fine- and coarse-grained environmental
 variability. Furthermore, we found evidence that plasticity in SLA across
 coarse-grained habitats was correlated with plant fitness, suggesting that
 plasticity in this trait is adaptive. Synthesis. Our results revealed
 adaptive genetic differentiation between P. alpina populations in the
 Swiss Alps reflecting local adaptation. Furthermore, high phenotypic
 plasticity in SLA contributed to the maintenance of fitness homoeostasis
 across habitats. Hence, adaptive genetic differentiation and phenotypic
 plasticity play a complementary role for adaption of P. alpina to
 environmental heterogeneity in the Swiss Alps and both may be critical to
 mitigate local extinction risk under rapid climate change.
description: poa_alpina_dataThis file contains all raw data on the first sheet, with the site name, elevation of the site, site location (region in Switzerland), individual number (genotype_replicate clone), population name, origin of the population, sympatric vs. allopatric criterion (sympatric, near-allopatric, far-allopatric), initial tiller number (initial tiller), height of inflorescences (height), number of tillers (ntiller), number of inflorescences (nrepro), incidence of reproduction (repro), vegetative biomass (vegbiom), survival, reproductive biomass (reprobiom), and specific leaf are (sla). On the second sheet, you willl find the data for the selection analysis of plasticity at the small spatial scale (sympatric - near-allpoatric : SA), with the standardized plasticity index (stand_index), the standardized specific leaf area (stand_sla), and the relative fitness (relat-fit). Same for the third sheet, except with data calculted at the larger spatial scale (sympatric - far-allopatric: SF). IMPORTANT NOTE: The population codes between the data file and the manuscript were changed. Below you will find the population codes from the data file, the correspondant codes in the manuscript and the original home site (sympatric) of those populations: PAD1 --&gt; stays PAD1, home at FluelpassPAD2 --&gt; stays PAD2, home at Schwarzhorn (was removed from files and analysis)PAD7 --&gt; became PAD3, home at SchiahornPAZ1 --&gt; stays PAZ1, home at SchwarzseePAZ3 --&gt; became PAZ2, home at RothornPAZT4 --&gt; became PAZ3, home at FuriOne population was removed from analysis (as it did not amplify to microsatellite PCR, see results). However, we made a mistake in the manuscript in stating that this population was PAD3. Instead, it is population PAD2 that was removed from analysis (and the data file), as can be seen in Figure 2.