OOS 69
Intraspecific Genetic Adaptation in Forest Trees and Its Ecological Implications Under a Changing Climate

Thursday, August 13, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
337, Baltimore Convention Center
Organizer:
Laura P. Leites, Pennsylvania State University
Co-organizer:
Anantha Prasad, Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service
Moderator:
Kristen Brubaker, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
More than 200 hundred years of genecology studies, including provenance and common garden tests, have demonstrated that many forest tree species have ample intra specific genetic variation which is often associated with climatic gradients. These have been largely interpreted as evidence of local adaptation to climate. Populations have different climate optima and their adaptation involves adjusting traits such as phenology, and cold and drought tolerance. In general, populations from colder climates have increased cold hardiness and shorter growing seasons than those inhabiting milder climates. Despite being adapted, populations of some species inhabit suboptimal climates as a result of a combination of lag in natural selection and biotic competition. The degree of suboptimal climate inhabited differs among populations and thus a given change in climate will affect populations differently. The fate of a species under a changing climate is commonly evaluated assuming species are relatively homogenous; this however can lead to biased projections due to intraspecific variation. In recent years, understanding and modeling intra-specific genetic and ecological variation to changes in climate has received increased attention in order to address the challenge of species’ shifting range boundaries. The focus of research has encompassed “rediscovering” historic provenance tests as experiments in climate change, the assessment of genetic variation and traits using molecular markers, and modeling with extensive field data via new computational methods. Ecological understanding and quantification of populations’ responses to changes in climate has the potential to integrate and synergize several fields dealing with tree species conservation and management. Projecting changes in species ranges and assemblages, and understanding changes in species recruitment, mortality, and inter-specific competition dynamics, will be aided by a better understanding of populations’ adaptive responses to changing climate. Elucidating the spread and the effects of other biotic pressures, such as pests and diseases, under a changing climate will require quantification of the interaction between intra specific differences in adaptation and pest or pathogen biology. Populations inhabiting the edge of the species range are often at the limit of their environmental tolerance, thus the vulnerability to a biotic stressor may be amplified. The purpose of this session is to engender collaboration in this rich, inter-disciplinary and crucial field by assembling recent research and modeling work that 1) elucidates populations’ responses to changes in climate, 2) evaluates the ecological implications of these differential responses, and 3) shows how this research can be utilized to aid forest adaptation.
8:00 AM
 Eco-evolutionary responses to environmental change
Mark Vellend, Université de Sherbrooke; Carissa D. Brown, Memorial University; Anne D. Bjorkman, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research; Geneviève Lajoie, Université de Sherbrooke; Elizabeth J. Kleynhans, University of British Colombia; Josée Savage, Université de Sherbrooke
8:20 AM
 Looking back to see ahead: Considering genetic divergence within tree species to anticipate responses to climate change
Kevin Potter, North Carolina State University; William Hargrove, USDA Forest Service, Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center; Valerie D. Hipkins, USDA Forest Service; Robert Means, Bureau of Land Management Wyoming; Robert Jetton, North Carolina State University
9:20 AM
 Geographic variation in adaptative traits in Douglas-fir and responses to climate change
J. Bradley St. Clair, USDA Forest Service; Constance A. Harrington, USDA Forest Service; Sheel Bansal, USDA Forest Service; Peter J. Gould, Washington Department of Natural Resouces
9:40 AM
9:50 AM
 Integration of provenance tests and National Forest Inventories to account for intraspecific variation in species distribution models
Marta Benito-Garzón, UMR 8079 Université Paris-Sud-CNRS-AgroParisTech; Bruno Fady, Site Agroparc; Natalia Vizcaíno-Palomar, INIA-CIFOR; Juan Fernández-Manjarrés, UMR 8079 Université Paris-Sud-CNRS-AgroParisTech
10:10 AM
 Effects of vernal freeze damage on trembling aspen growth and colonization by Chaitophorus stevensis
Kennedy F. Rubert-Nason, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Elizabeth A. Gryzmala, University of Wisconsin - Madison; John Couture, University of Wisconsin; Richard L. Lindroth, University of Wisconsin - Madison
10:30 AM
 Genetic variation in lodgepole pine and white spruce in Alberta: Adaptation to climate and implications for assisted migration to address climate change
Laura Gray, University of Alberta; Katharina Liepe, University of Alberta; Andreas Hamann, University of Alberta; Sally N. Aitken, University of British Columbia
10:50 AM
 High resilience of temperate oak populations to climate change in Europe: A mixed model analysis of a large multisite provenance tests
Cuauhtémoc Saenz-Romero, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Cestas, & Université de Bordeaux; Jean-Baptiste Lamy, Ifremer; Alexis Ducousso, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Cestas, & Université de Bordeaux; Antoine Kremer, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Cestas, & Université de Bordeaux
11:10 AM
 Assessing intraspecific demographic variation via integrated ecological modelling and genetic analysis to assist tree species management
Anantha Prasad, Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service; Kevin M. Potter, North Carolina State University