Disentangling enabler and adaptive traits across habitat shifts in a large neotropical plant clade
- 1Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte
Abstract
Plant lineages tend to retain their ancestral environments, yet some successfully shift into new habitats. However, the factors that enable certain lineages to colonize novel environments while others fail to do so remain unclear. We tested whether vegetative traits function as enablers of habitat transitions, whereas reproductive traits evolve primarily as adaptive responses following these shifts. We analyzed 12 vegetative and 7 reproductive traits across 689 species of Neotropical Myrtaceae. Habitats were characterized using biome categories and multiple climatic gradients. Using a set of trait evolution models, we quantified trait-environment matching and evaluated whether trait evolution preceded or followed habitat transitions. Vegetative traits showed stronger trait-environment matching and more frequently acted as enablers, while reproductive traits displayed both enabler and adaptive patterns. Transitions into harsher environments were generally associated with a greater number of enabler traits. Habitat shifts are associated with a combination of enabler and adaptive patterns that vary across trait types and environments. Reproductive traits may contribute to colonization more than often assumed, and colonization of harsh environments may require more enabler trait combinations, highlighting that different trait-evolutionary dynamics may underlie transitions into different habitats.
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BibTeX
@misc{kilsztajn2026disentangling,
title = {{Disentangling enabler and adaptive traits across habitat shifts in a large neotropical plant clade}},
author = {Y. Kilsztajn and T. Vasconcelos and J. Boyko and V. Staggemeier},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.17.752501},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.17.752501v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Disentangling enabler and adaptive traits across habitat shifts in a large neotropical plant clade
AU - Y. Kilsztajn
AU - T. Vasconcelos
AU - J. Boyko
AU - V. Staggemeier
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/17
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.17.752501
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.17.752501v1
AB - Plant lineages tend to retain their ancestral environments, yet some successfully shift into new habitats. However, the factors that enable certain lineages to colonize novel environments while others fail to do so remain unclear. We tested whether vegetative traits function as enablers of habitat transitions, whereas reproductive traits evolve primarily as adaptive responses following these shifts. We analyzed 12 vegetative and 7 reproductive traits across 689 species of Neotropical Myrtaceae. Habitats were characterized using biome categories and multiple climatic gradients. Using a set of trait evolution models, we quantified trait-environment matching and evaluated whether trait evolution preceded or followed habitat transitions. Vegetative traits showed stronger trait-environment matching and more frequently acted as enablers, while reproductive traits displayed both enabler and adaptive patterns. Transitions into harsher environments were generally associated with a greater number of enabler traits. Habitat shifts are associated with a combination of enabler and adaptive patterns that vary across trait types and environments. Reproductive traits may contribute to colonization more than often assumed, and colonization of harsh environments may require more enabler trait combinations, highlighting that different trait-evolutionary dynamics may underlie transitions into different habitats.
ER -