DOI: 10.5061/dryad.3bk3j9kt0
title: Climate and habitat type interact to influence contemporary dispersal potential in Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum)

description: Understanding dispersal potential, or the probability a species will move
 a given distance, under different environmental conditions is essential to
 predicting species’ ability to move across the landscape and track
 shifting ecological niches. Two important drivers of dispersal ability are
 climatic differences and variation in local habitat type. Despite the
 likelihood these global drivers act simultaneously on plant populations,
 and thus dispersal potential is likely to change as a result, their
 combined effects on dispersal are rarely examined. To understand the
 effect of climate and varying habitat types on dispersal potential, we
 studied Geum triflorum - a perennial grassland species that spans a wide
 range of environments, including both prairie and alvar habitats. We
 explored how the climate of the growing season and habitat type (prairie
 vs alvar) interact to alter dispersal potential. We found a consistent
 interactive effect of climate and habitat type on dispersal potential.
 Across prairie populations, an increased number of growing degree days
 favored traits that increase dispersal potential, or the probability of
 dispersing farther distances. However, for alvar populations, dispersal
 potential tended to decrease as the number of growing degree days
 increase. Our findings suggest that under continued warming, populations
 in prairie habitats will benefit from increased gene flow, while alvar
 populations will become increasingly segregated, with reduced potential to
 track shifting fitness optima.
description: <strong>1) geum_data.csv </strong>- trait data for
 geum.  Trait data measured in the lab. <strong>2)
 terminalvelocity_data.csv </strong>- terminal velocity data
 collected from dropping seeds through a tunnel with light receptors in the
 lab <strong>3) height_data.csv</strong> -
 data on heights of G. triflorum individuals collected from digital
 herbarium specimens provided by: University of Minnesota, University of
 Manitoba, the Canadian Museum of Nature (CAN), and the Agriculture and
 Agri-Food Canada National Collection of Vascular Plants (DAO).
 <strong>4) wind_data.csv</strong> - wind data from a
 weather station near Moorehead, MN <strong>5)
 PCA_results.xlsx</strong> - the PCA results for our climate
 variables to demonstrate how we chose the variables we did in our
 analysis. <strong>6)
 climate_data_tomerge_trait.csv:</strong> The .csv file to merge with
 geum_data.csv for analyses from that dataset (code merges these
 together).  Created from ClimateNA <strong>7)
 climate_data_tomerge_tv.csv: </strong>The .csv file to merge with
 terminalvelocity_data.csv for analyses from that dataset (code merges
 these together).  Created from ClimateNA
description: # Climate and habitat type interact to influence contemporary dispersal
 potential in Prairie Smoke (*Geum triflorum*)
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3bk3j9kt0](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3bk3j9kt0) In this experiment we sampled seeds from natural populations of *Geum triflorum* plants across the northern Midwestern US and Canada to determine their dispersal ability in their two habitat types (prairie and alvar habitats) across the range of climate that exists across *G. triflorum's* range. We collected dispersal traits on the seeds (e.g. mass, length, width and area), as well as terminal velocity on these seeds. We also collected data on the height at seed release of these plants, as well as the climate data in these populations from the years the seeds were collected from climateNA (a climate database). We then ran the WALD dispersal model on these seeds to estimate their dispersal potential. We found that as climate warmed in a particular year (as the number of growing degree days) increased in prairie habitats, dispersal ability increased (seeds could travel farther distances), whereas when the climate warmed in alvar habitats, dispersal ability decreased (seeds could travel shorter distances). ## Description of the data and file structure **1) geum_data.csv** - trait and climate data for geum.  Trait data measured in the lab, climate data collected from climateNA. Metadata are as follows: * Year: The year the seeds were collected for that particular population * Population_Code: Population identifier * DateOfCollection: the date of seed collection * Sample_ID: Sample identifier that indicates population, family and replicate * Population: Population identifier * Family: Family identifier * Replicate: Replicate seed within family * Region: Type of habitat the plants were found in (alvar vs prairie) * Latitude: latitude * Longitude: longitude * SeedArea: The area of the seed (mm^2) * SeedWidth_mm: The seed width (mm) * Seed_length_mm: The seed length (mm) * SeedShapeIndex: the seed shape index which is a 2D representation of the seed * Dispersal_length_mm: The length of the awn (mm) * Disperesal_and_seed_mm: The length of the diaspore - seed + awn (mm) * Weight_Tot: Mass of the entire diaspore - seed + awn (g) * Weight_S: Mass of the seed (g) * Weight_D: Mass of the awn (g) **2) terminalvelocity_data.csv** - terminal velocity data collected from dropping seeds through a tunnel with light receptors in the lab. Metadata are as follows: * Year: The year the seeds were collected for that particular population * Population: Population identifier * Sample_ID: Sample identifier that indicates population, family and replicate * Family: Family identifier * tv: Terminal Velocity (m/s) * Region: Type of habitat the plants were found in (alvar vs prairie) * Latitutde: latitude * Longitude: longitude **3) height_data.csv** - data on heights of G. triflorum individuals collected from digital herbarium specimens provided by: University of Minnesota, University of Manitoba, the Canadian Museum of Nature (CAN), and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada National Collection of Vascular Plants (DAO). Metadata are as follows: * Herbarium: The herbarium the samples were collected from * Region: Type of habitat the plants were found in (alvar vs prairie) * collection_no: The collection number for the particular specimen * height_cm: The height of the flowering stem (cm) **4) wind_data.csv** - wind data from a weather station near Moorehead, MN. Metadata are as follows: * date: Date of wind collection * measurement: The type of wind measurement collected (either average wind or max wind) * value: the value of the wind measurement (meters per second) **5) PCA_results.xlsx** - the PCA results for our climate variables to demonstrate how we chose the variables we did in our analysis. This dataset shows all variables put into the model, how much variation each PC axis explained and each cell represents the value on that particular PC axis for that variable. **6) climate_data_tomerge_trait.csv** - climate data for analyses associated with the geum_data.csv dataset. * Population_Code: Population identifier * DD5_TOT: The total growing degree days above 5^oC in the year of seed collection **7) climate_data_tomerge_tv.csv** - climate data for analyses associated with the terminalvelocity_data.csv dataset. * Sample_ID: Sample identifier that indicates population, family and replicate (identical to Population_Code) * DD5_TOT: The total growing degree days above 5^oC in the year of seed collection Missing data values are coded as "NA" ## Sharing/Access information You can also find the data and code on GitHub. * [https://github.com/LLSullivan/GeumDispersal](https://github.com/LLSullivan/GeumDispersal) Climate data was derived from the following sources: * [https://climatena.ca/](https://climatena.ca/) ## Code/Software **1) Code_GeumDispersal_Final.Rmd** - this R file recreates all data analysis and figures. It outlines the associated files above and how to use them.