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Dryad

Trait and microhabitat data for sympatric seep monkeyflowers along a soil moisture gradient in San Luis Obispo, CA

Abstract

Temporal and spatial variation in soil moisture is known to drive phenotypic differentiation within and among plant populations. Here we investigate trait variation and plasticity along a fine-scaled soil moisture gradient between two sympatric monkeyflowers: Erythranthe guttata and a close relative, Erythranthe serpentinicola D.J. Keil (Phrymaceae). E. serpentinicola is endemic to the central coast of California in ephemerally wet serpentine rock outcrops that are adjacent to perennially wet seeps where Erythranthe guttata typically occurs. Morphological, physiological, phenological and soil moisture data data was collected along an environmental gradient from rock outcrop to seep habitats. We collected seed from rock outcrops and seeps to grow under common conditions, then collected morphological, physiological, and phenological data to determine whether the trait divergence in the field was maintained.