DOI: 10.5061/dryad.ff11k13
title: Data from: Variation in growth and defence traits among plant populations at different elevations: implications for adaptation to climate change

description: Alpine plants occurring at high elevation are vulnerable to ongoing
 climate change, yet relatively little is known about the potential for
 high‐elevation species to adapt to changing environmental conditions. In
 particular, the extent to which high‐elevation plants will be able to
 resist predicted increases in the intensity of biotic interactions, such
 as herbivory, remains unclear. Species distributed across broad
 elevational ranges provide an opportunity to investigate evolutionary
 mechanisms and traits involved in adaptation to varying abiotic and biotic
 environments. This study focused on the perennial alpine plant Arabis
 alpina and combined field surveys and climate‐chamber experiments to test
 for intraspecific genetic divergence in traits related to growth and
 defence against herbivores. We screened multiple populations from low,
 intermediate and high elevations across a broad geographic area,
 characterising differences in growth form, leaf structural traits,
 palatability for herbivores and defensive chemistry. We then quantified
 the proportion of variation explained by elevation and population‐level
 effects. Our results document within‐species genetic divergence in
 multiple traits relevant for adaptation to the different abiotic and
 biotic pressures experienced at low and high elevations. Rates of
 herbivore damage declined with increasing elevation in the field, but
 plants from high‐ and intermediate‐elevation populations were generally
 more palatable for specialist herbivores than those from low‐elevation
 populations in feeding assays. Elevational clines were also observed in
 several glucosinolate defence compounds, and leaf herbivory more strongly
 induced glucosinolates in plants from high‐elevation populations than in
 those from low‐elevation populations. Leaf trichome density and growth
 form also diverged among populations contributing to growth‐defence
 phenotypes associated with different elevations. However, populations from
 similar elevations often differed significantly in both growth and
 defence‐related traits, with trait variation often better explained by
 population‐level effects than by elevation alone. Synthesis: Arabis alpina
 exhibits patterns of genetic variation in growth and defence traits
 consistent with adaptation to different elevations. However, populations
 from similar elevations also diverged in many of these ecologically
 relevant traits. Together, the extent of the observed trait variation
 suggests that this alpine species has considerable potential to adapt to a
 changing biotic environment.
description: Field survey data of
 leaf damageField survey data
 detailing the number of leaves showing signs of damage and the number of
 leaves not showing damage for Arabis alpina plants from different
 elevations.Aalpina_fielddata_totaldamage.csvFrequency of different damage types in fieldField survey data detailing whether surveyed plants from different elevations show one of four different damage types.Aalpina_fielddata_frequencytypesdamage.csvRosette size estimates from experiment 1Data on maximum leaf length for Arabis alpina plants from different elevations grown in a common greenhouse environment.Aalpina_expt1_leaflength.csvLarval mass data from experiment 1Data on larval performance (mass) on Arabis alpina plants from different elevations when plants were grown in a common greenhouse environment.Aalpina_expt1_individuallarvalmass.csvLarval survival in experiment 1Larval survival data on Arabis alpina plants from different elevation when plants were grown in a common greenhouse environment.Aalpina_expt1_larvalsurvival.csvGrowth, morphology and larval performance in experiment 2Data from experiment 2 on plant growth and morphology, as well as larval performance on these plants, when plants were grown in common greenhouse conditions.Aalpina_expt2_growth_morphology_traits.csvConstitutive glucosinolatesAmounts of constitutive leaf glucosinolates for Arabis alpina plants from different elevation grown in a common greenhouse environment.Aalpina_constitutive_glucosinolates.csvHerbivore-induced glucosinolatesConstitutive and herbivore-induced amounts of glucosinolates produced by Arabis alpina plants from six populations in a common greenhouse environment.Aalpina_induced_glucosinolates.csv