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1. The evolution of plasticity in drought-related traits in central and edge populations of Mimulus cardinalis

   https://doi.org/10.1093/jeb/voag068  

   Cook, Emily; Albano, Lucas J; Gomez-Vega, Xitlaly; Kutella, Katelin; Moazed, Mariam; Strebler, Marissa; Wang, Dachuan; Muir, Christopher D; Flores-Renteria, Lluvia; Sexton, Jason P; et al (August 2026, Journal of Evolutionary Biology)

   Abstract Phenotypic plasticity can influence population persistence, range dynamics, and evolutionary potential in heterogeneous landscapes. If adaptive, plasticity may buffer populations against environmental variability, climate change, and extreme events. Yet, few studies have examined how plasticity and its evolution vary across species’ ranges. This is especially important for edge populations, which are often most vulnerable to novel conditions. The Climate Variability Hypothesis postulates that greater environmental variability selects for genotypes that exhibit greater phenotypic plasticity. However, field tests of this hypothesis across species’ ranges remain rare. Using scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis), we combined a resurrection approach with common gardens to test whether (1) central and edge populations differ in plasticity in drought-associated traits, (2) there were evolutionary shifts in plasticity following an extreme drought, and (3) plasticity was adaptive. We measured plasticity in first flower date, specific leaf area, and leaf dry matter content across two leading-edge, two range-center, and two trailing-edge populations, comparing pre-drought ancestors and post-drought descendants grown in three gardens spanning the latitudinal range following a historic drought event. We found significant plasticity in all traits, and plasticity in the date of first flower was greatest in trailing-edge populations that have experienced greater interannual variation in precipitation. Evolutionary changes in plasticity occurred in some populations but did not consistently increase first-year fitness. The adaptive value of plasticity was trait-specific. These results show that plasticity is shaped by both spatial and temporal environmental variation and highlight the need to examine trait- and population-level responses to understand selection on plasticity at range edges. 

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2. Genetic variation underlies plastic responses to global change drivers in the purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus

   https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1249  

   Strader, Marie E.; Wolak, Matthew E.; Simon, Olivia M.; Hofmann, Gretchen E. (August 2022, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)

   Phenotypic plasticity and adaptive evolution enable population persistence in response to global change. However, there are few experiments that test how these processes interact within and across generations, especially in marine species with broad distributions experiencing spatially and temporally variable temperature and p CO 2 . We employed a quantitative genetics experiment with the purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus , to decompose family-level variation in transgenerational and developmental plastic responses to ecologically relevant temperature and p CO 2 . Adults were conditioned to controlled non-upwelling (high temperature, low p CO 2 ) or upwelling (low temperature, high p CO 2 ) conditions. Embryos were reared in either the same conditions as their parents or the crossed environment, and morphological aspects of larval body size were quantified. We find evidence of family-level phenotypic plasticity in response to different developmental environments. Among developmental environments, there was substantial additive genetic variance for one body size metric when larvae developed under upwelling conditions, although this differed based on parental environment. Furthermore, cross-environment correlations indicate significant variance for genotype-by-environment interactive effects. Therefore, genetic variation for plasticity is evident in early stages of S. purpuratus , emphasizing the importance of adaptive evolution and phenotypic plasticity in organismal responses to global change. 

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3. Higher heat acclimation ability in a non-native versus a native dung beetle (Onthophagus spp.)

   https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sn02v6xc2  

   Mamantov, Margaret A; Sheldon, Kimberly S (January 2025, Dryad)

   Invasive species may be more capable of adjusting to climate warming via phenotypic plasticity than native species since plasticity is thought to increase invasion success. Physiological plasticity via acclimation is one way in which organisms can adjust their thermal tolerance in response to temperature change, but few studies have addressed whether invasive species have greater thermal plasticity compared to native congeners. Here we investigated whether thermal plasticity via temperature acclimation varies between two Onthophagus dung beetle species, the non-native Onthophagus taurus and the native Onthophagus hecate, collected from both Florida and Tennessee, USA. We expected the non-native O. taurus to demonstrate greater plasticity than the native O. hecate; we also predicted that beetles from Florida would have reduced plasticity since their environment is less thermally variable. To examine thermal plasticity, we measured shifts in time until loss of function (i.e., leg mobility) following acclimation to hot or cold temperature treatments. We found that non-native O. taurus from Florida acclimated to warm temperatures, increasing time to loss of function following warm treatments; unexpectedly, O. taurus from Tennessee showed no warm acclimation ability. Onthophagus hecate did not acclimate to warm temperatures in either location. In contrast, both species showed similar levels of cold acclimation. Taken together, our results suggest that the non-native species, O. taurus, will be more capable of using physiological adjustments to respond to climate warming than the native species, O. hecate. 

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4. Genotypic variation and plasticity in climate-adaptive traits after range expansion and fragmentation of red spruce ( Picea rubens Sarg.)

   https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0008  

   Prakash, Anoob; DeYoung, Sonia; Lachmuth, Susanne; Adams, Jacquelyne L.; Johnsen, Kurt; Butnor, John R.; Nelson, David M.; Fitzpatrick, Matthew C.; Keller, Stephen R. (April 2022, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)

   Shifting range limits are predicted for many species as the climate warms. However, the rapid pace of climate change will challenge the natural dispersal capacity of long-lived, sessile organisms such as forest trees. Adaptive responses of populations will, therefore, depend on levels of genetic variation and plasticity for climate-responsive traits, which likely vary across the range due to expansion history and current patterns of selection. Here, we study levels of genetic and plastic variation for phenology and growth traits in populations of red spruce ( Picea rubens ), from the range core to the highly fragmented trailing edge. We measured more than 5000 offspring sampled from three genetically distinct regions (core, margin and edge) grown in three common gardens replicated along a latitudinal gradient. Genetic variation in phenology and growth showed low to moderate heritability and differentiation among regions, suggesting some potential to respond to selection. Phenology traits were highly plastic, but this plasticity was generally neutral or maladaptive in the effect on growth, revealing a potential liability under warmer climates. These results suggest future climate adaptation will depend on the regional availability of genetic variation in red spruce and provide a resource for the design and management of assisted gene flow. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Species’ ranges in the face of changing environments (Part II)’. 

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5. Developmental Plasticity in Response to Temperature Aligns with Allen’s but not Bergmann’s Rule

   https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icag059  

   Bockrath, Rachel E; Wimberly-Lehmann, Hailey R; Dochtermann, Ned A; Heidinger, Britt J (January 2026, Integrative And Comparative Biology)

   Synopsis Increases in average global temperatures have caused researchers to revisit how species and populations are expected to respond to changing temperatures. Allen’s rule and Bergmann’s rule describe two ecogeographic patterns where species in high (cold) latitudes have shorter limbs and larger bodies, respectively, than species at low (warm) latitudes. This pattern is purported to be due to the improved heat retention of short-limbed, large bodies, and improved heat dissipation of long-limbed, small bodies. While Allen’s and Bergmann’s rules are generally assumed to reflect adaptive outcomes, we sought to investigate the role of developmental plasticity in response to rearing temperature in producing these expected morphologies. To do so, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to test the hypotheses that body shape and size will change plastically in response to experimentally manipulated thermal rearing environments and conform to the patterns predicted by Allen’s and Bergmann’s rules. Via a phylogenetic meta-analysis, we examined the relationship between temperature experienced by subjects during early life and subsequent body shape and size metrics. Our analysis of 40 studies included 243 estimates from 4 mammal species and 21 bird species, with some species contributing multiple estimates. Developmental plasticity generally produced morphologies in line with Allen’s rule, though not Bergmann’s rule. Changes in morphology were more prominent under artificially cold conditions than warm conditions. Mammals were generally more responsive than birds, though birds were better-represented in our final dataset. These results suggest that developmental plasticity may contribute to the ability of populations to respond to climate change and that broader biogeographical patterns may emerge from plastic responses. 

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