DOI: 10.5061/dryad.h1d7d13
title: Data from: Evolution during population spread affects plant performance in stressful environments

description: 1. Reliable predictions of population spread rates are essential to
 forecast biological invasions. Recent studies have shown that populations
 spreading through favourable habitat can rapidly evolve higher dispersal
 and reproductive rates at the expansion front, which accelerates spread
 velocity. However, spreading populations are likely to eventually
 encounter stressful conditions in the expanded range. How evolution during
 spread in favourable environments affects subsequent population growth in
 harsher environments is currently unknown. 2. We examined evolutionary
 change in performance under drought, interspecific competition and heat
 stress for populations of Arabidopsis thaliana that experienced six
 generations of spread through replicated experimental landscapes of
 favourable habitat. To quantify how population performance under stress
 differed between leading edge and founding populations, we combined
 individual tests of genotype performance under stress with knowledge of
 the genotype frequency changes that occurred over the replicate invasions.
 3. After spreading through favourable environments, the average silique
 production of individuals exposed to drought or interspecific competition
 was lower in leading edge than founding populations. This change was
 driven by the evolution of lower intrinsic silique production, which was
 correlated with increased seed size, a trait that evolved as populations
 spread. The ability of plants to tolerate drought or interspecific
 competition, however, did not change markedly during spread. Heat
 tolerance did increase in leading edge populations, and this trait was
 associated with the evolution of taller plants during spread through
 favourable habitat. 4. Synthesis. We conclude that evolution during spread
 in favourable environments may affect the ability of populations to grow
 under stressful conditions as experienced in the expanded range, through
 changes in either intrinsic fecundity or stress tolerance. Thus, evolution
 during spread may constrain or extend the eventual range limit of
 non-native species invasions.
description: Average performance of
 each genotypeAverage performance of
 each genotype (recombinant inbred line) under stress (drought,
 interspecific competition, heat stress) and control conditions. Averages
 were calculated based on data files 2-4. Please see README for metadata,
 and Materials and Methods for details on how these genotype averages were
 used in further analyses.stresstraits.csvDrought experiment: silique number per individualData for the drought experiment, containing the silique number of each plant grown under drought or control conditions (18 replicate individuals of each genotype per treatment). Data are presented in Fig. S1A. Please see README associated with file 1 for metadata.drought_data.csvCompetition experiment: silique number per individualData for the interspecific competition experiment, containing the silique number of each plant grown under competition or control conditions (12 replicate individuals of each genotype per treatment). Data are presented in Fig. S1B. Please see README associated with file 1 for metadata.competition_data.csvHeat stress experiment: survival per individualData for the heat stress experiment, containing the survival of each individual after two rounds of heat stress, or under control conditions (18 replicate individuals of each genotype per treatment). Note that all control plants survived. The average survival rate of each genotype under heat stress across all replicates is presented in Fig. S1C. Please see README associated with file 1 for metadata.heat_data.csv