An experimental test of local adaptation among cytotypes within a polyploid complex

The geographic distributions of polyploids suggest they can have distinct and sometimes broader niches compared to diploids. However, relatively few field experiments have investigated whether range differences are associated with local adaptation or reflect other processes, such as dispersal limitation. In three years of transplants across the elevational ranges of five cytotypes in the Claytonia perfoliata complex, we found evidence for local adaptation. In at least one study year germination was higher within the natural range for each cytotype, and four of the five cytotypes attained larger biomass within their natural range. Fitness within and beyond range varied across years, with two instances of cytotypes showing higher fitness beyond the range, highlighting a potential role of temporal variability in cytotype differentiation. Polyploids as a group did not outperform diploids, but the cytotype with highest fitness across environments was a hexaploid reported to be invasive. Our results suggest that differences in geographic ranges within the C. perfoliata complex reflect local adaptation of cytotypes. Although we did not find a general polyploid advantage, our findings support the idea that occasional polyploid cytotypes exhibit high fitness relative to other cytotypes, and contribute to growing evidence supporting ecological differentiation of cytotypes within polyploid complexes.