10.5061/DRYAD.VT4B8GTN4
Block, Sebastian
0000-0002-4208-6653
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
Alexander, Jake
0000-0003-2226-7913
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
Levine, Jonathan
Princeton University
Data from: Phenological plasticity is a poor predictor of subalpine plant
population performance following experimental climate change
Dryad
dataset
2019
phenological shifts
Transplant experiment
ETH Zurich
https://ror.org/05a28rw58
2019-10-22T00:00:00Z
2019-10-22T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.06667
5361989 bytes
2
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Phenological shifts, changes in the seasonal timing of life cycle events,
are among the best documented responses of species to climate change.
However, the consequences of these phenological shifts for population
dynamics remain unclear. Population growth could be enhanced if species
that advance their phenology benefit from longer growing seasons and gain
a pre-emptive advantage in resource competition. However, it might also be
reduced if phenological advances increase exposure to stresses, such as
herbivores and, in colder climates, harsh abiotic conditions early in the
growing season. We exposed subalpine grasslands to ~ 3 K of warming by
transplanting intact turfs from 2000 m to 1400 m elevation in the eastern
Swiss Alps, with turfs transplanted within the 2000 m site acting as a
control. In the first growing season after transplantation, we recorded
species’ flowering phenology at both elevations. We also measured species’
cover change for three consecutive years as a measure of plant
performance. We used models to estimate species’ phenological plasticity
(the response of flowering time to the change in climate) and analysed its
relationship with cover changes following climate change. The phenological
plasticity of the 18 species in our study varied widely but was unrelated
to their changes in cover. Moreover, early- and late-flowering species did
not differ in their cover response to warming, nor in the relationship
between cover changes and phenological plasticity. These results were
replicated in a similar transplant experiment within the same subalpine
community, established one year earlier and using larger turfs. We discuss
the various ecological processes that can be affected by phenological
shifts, and argue why the population-level consequences of these shifts
are likely to be species- and context-specific. Our results highlight the
importance of testing assumptions about how warming-induced changes in
phenotypic traits, like phenology, impact population dynamics.
This dataset contains all the data and code required to reproduce the
results reported in the associated paper.