Abstract
Increasing
studies have shown the importance of
intraspecific trait variation (ITV)
on the ecological process.
However, the patterns and sources
of ITV are still unclear, especially in the propagule of coastal
vegetation. Here, we measured fresh weight (FW), fresh length
(FL), maximum transverse diameter
(TDmax), minimum
transverse diameter (TDmin) and
the ratio of TDmaxto TDmin (RTD) of the hypocotyl (propagule) ofKandelia obovata for 66
genealogies across 26 sites. By combining multiple factors of
climate, ocean and maternal tree
to analyze their effects on the intraspecific trait variation of
mangrove hypocotyl. The results showed that value of establishment
traits (FW, FL,
TDmax and TDmin which are related to
mass) decreased along increasing
latitudinal gradients and they were directly positively regulated by
temperature. ITV of dispersal trait (RTD) was unstructured along
latitudinal gradients, which was constrained by fitness tradeoff. Our
findings indicate that establishment traits mainly varied between
populations, whereas dispersal traits mainly varied between individuals.
This study provides insights into the ITV of propagule in different
functional dimensions on a broad scale and that may help integrate ITV
into future analyses of mangrove protection.