Illinois State University ISU ReD: Research and eData Theses and Dissertations 6-27-2018 Chamaecrista Fasciculata In Tallgrass And Sand Prairies: The Potential For Differential Responses Robert W. Philips Illinois State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd Part of the Botany Commons, and the Evolution Commons Recommended Citation Philips, Robert W., "Chamaecrista Fasciculata In Tallgrass And Sand Prairies: The Potential For Differential Responses" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 918. https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/918 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ISU ReD: Research and eData. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ISU ReD: Research and eData. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CHAMAECRISTA FASCICULATA IN TALLGRASS AND SAND PRAIRIES: THE POTENTIAL FOR DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSES ROBERT W. PHILIPS 90 Pages Successful establishment of a diversity of native species has become an important goal for restoration site managers to achieve, however as seed sources for a species may occur in habitats with different abiotic and biotic characteristics. Consequently, seeds from different sources may vary in their success in a restoration. Chamaecrista fasciculata, a native prairie species, occurs in two divergent prairie types - tallgrass and sand prairies. Tallgrass prairies have a moist soil with dense vegetation; in contrast, sand prairies have a well-drained sandy soil with sparse vegetation. I propose differential selection acting on populations in these prairie types would affect their seeds success in restorations. Given the denser vegetation of the tallgrass prairies, plants must be capable of competing for light resources, thus I predict the plants from tallgrass seed sources have a better competitor tolerance and would be more successful in a reconstructed tallgrass prairie. To assess the effect of sand vs. tallgrass prairie seed sources, I conducted a greenhouse and a common garden study. In the greenhouse study, all plants from the three tallgrass and three sand prairies were reduced in height, biomass, and fruit production when exposed to a competitor (Schizachyrium scoparium). Further, sand prairie plants had greater fruit production while tallgrass prairie plants flowered and senesced earlier. In the common garden study, plants within the no trim treatment had a greater relative leaf area lost to herbivory in late seasonal measurements. However, my results found no evidence of tallgrass seed sources showing any greater competitive tolerance or relative success in comparison to sand prairie seed sources in the greenhouse and common garden studies. Still, different prairie types were found to differ in some observed traits in a greenhouse setting. Further study is necessary to determine if the observed differences in the greenhouse and the native prairies would impact restorations. KEYWORDS: Tallgrass Prairie, Sand Prairie, Ecotypes, Seed Sources CHAMAECRISTA FASCICULATA IN TALLGRASS AND SAND PRAIRIES: THE POTENTIAL FOR DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSES ROBERT W. PHILIPS A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE School of Biological Sciences ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY 2018 Copyright 2018 Robert W. Philips CHAMAECRISTA FASCICULATA IN TALLGRASS AND SAND PRAIRIES: THE POTENTIAL FOR DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSES ROBERT W. PHILIPS COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Diane Byers, Chair Victoria Borowicz Benjamin Sadd ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Diane Byers, Vickie Borowicz, and Ben Sadd for their assistance with my research and being a part of my committee. Further, I would like to thank Joe Oremus and Victoria DeMichel for their help in both the common garden and greenhouse studies and Phi Sigma and Illinois State University for funding. Finally, I would like to thank the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for allowing me to collect seeds from their sites, John Franklin for allowing me to perform a common garden study on his property, and Tim Lindenbaum for providing historical information about the sites restoration methods and previous land uses. R. W. P. i CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS i TABLES iv FIGURES v CHAPTER I: IS THERE A DIFFERENCE IN THE COMPETITIVE RESPONSE OF CHAMAECRISTA FASCICULATA FROM SAND VS. TALLGRASS PRAIRIES? 1 Introduction 1 Methods 5 Study Species 5 Prairie Seed Sources 6 Experimental Design 7 Plant Assessment 8 Statistical Analyses 9 Results 10 Discussion 12 References 16 Tables 25 Figures 35 CHAPTER II: DOES SEED SOURCE OF CHAMAECRISTA FASCICULATA AFFECT ITS SUCCESS IN A RESTORED TALLGRASS PRAIRIE 43 Introduction 43 Methods 48 ii Study Species 48 Seed Source Population 49 Experimental Site 50 Experimental Design 51 Plant Assessment 52 Arthropod Assessment 54 Statistical Analyses 55 Results 56 Discussion 59 References 62 Tables 69 Figures 74 APPENDIX A: FIELD SITE SEED COLLECTION INFORMATION 80 APPENDIX B: SPECIES COMPOSITION IN FIELD SITE SAMPLE PLOTS 83 APPENDIX C: ARTHROPOD SURVEY INFORMATION 89 iii TABLES Table Page 1. Prairie Soil Characteristics 25 2. Natural Prairie Vegetation Data 27 3. Repeated Measures Height Analysis 28 4. Profile Analysis for Height 29 5. Aboveground Biomass Nested ANOVA 30 6. Fruit Biomass Nested ANOVA 31 7. Fruit Production Nested Factorial ANOVA 32 8. Developmental Nested Factorial MANOVA 33 9. Growth Rate Split-Plot MANOVA Analysis 69 10. Biomass Split-Plot MANOVA Analysis 70 11. Nectar Production Split-Plot ANOVA Analysis 71 12. Relative Leaf Area Lost to Herbivory, Measurement 1, Split- Plot ANOVA Analysis 72 13. Relative Leaf Area Lost to Herbivory, Measurement 2, Split- Plot ANOVA Analysis 73 iv FIGURES Figure Page 1. Mean Height 35 2. Biomass Production by Competition Treatment 36 3. Fruit Production by Competition Treatment 37 4. Fruit Production by Prairie Type 38 5. Days to Flowering and Senescence by Treatment 39 6. Height at Flowering Day and Senescence by Treatment 40 7. Height at Flowering Day and Senescence by Prairie Type 41 8. Days to Flowering and Senescence by Prairie Type 42 9. Field Study Mean Height 74 10. Field Aboveground Biomass 75 11. Field Fruit Biomass 76 12. Nectar Production 77 13. Relative Impact of Herbivory (July 24-25) 78 14. Relative Impact of Herbivory (August 30-September 1) 79 v CHAPTER I: IS THERE A DIFFERENCE IN THE COMPETITIVE RESPONSE OF CHAMAECRISTA FASCICULATA FROM SAND VS. TALLGRASS PRAIRIES? Introduction Species that occur across a wide geographic range are often present in multiple environmental types (Lindborg and Eriksson 2004; Lowry and Willis 2010). Differences in the characteristics of environments often lead to contrasting selection within species resulting in phenotypically and genetically distinct ecotypes within a species as found in the classic study by Clausen et al. (1948). This study and associated research were the first to use a reciprocal transplant approach to assess local adaptation across an environmental gradient. One of their results showed that populations of Achillea which varied in height in their native populations when grown in a series of experimental elevation gardens, provided evidence that the variation among population for height must be at least partly genetic (Clausen et al. 1948). Further, in a study conducted by Lowry and Willis (2010), populations of Mimulus guttatus found in contrasting habitat types were found to differ in their life histories. Specifically, populations found in moist coastal habitats were perennials while populations found in dry inland habitats were annuals (Lowry and Willis 2010). These ecotypes are better suited to a certain environment than other populations of the same species, which may be suited to another habitat (Clausen et al. 1948; Lowry and Willis 2010). Environments across a species range can vary in both abiotic factors (soil, temperature, moisture, seasonal climate patterns) and biotic factors (competitors, predators, mutualists) (Leimu and Fischer 2008). Populations located within different environments would be exposed to different biotic and abiotic selection pressures, and consequently traits of species would be 1 expected to diverge in their responses depending on the specific environmental conditions. The response to this selection will be dependent on phenotypic and genetic diversity for the particular traits that can enable species to survive and reproduce in particular environmental conditions. If so, divergent selection can lead to populations with unique trait values (Endler 1986). The potential for differential adaptation due to environmental variation has been documented in a diversity of plant species (Clausen et al. 1948; Johnson et al. 2010; Lowry and Willis 2010; Finney et al. 2016). Contrasting selection by environmental conditions can result in genetically distinct ecotypes that show greater fitness in a similar vs. alternative habitat. In reciprocal transplant studies, ecotypes have shown greater fitness and reproductive success in their native habitat versus the alternate habitat and exhibit different life history strategies (Lowry and Willis 2010). Further, ecotypes have shown to exhibit differential responses when placed in the same habit, where the local ecotype produces greater aboveground biomass (Finney et al. 2016) or has a more beneficial symbiotic relationship with soil microbes (Johnson et al. 2010). Prairie plants that are distributed across a large geographic range and can be subject to different selective