Does competitive asymmetry confer polyploid advantage under changing environments?

Abstract

Abstract Competitive interactions drive critical ecological processes in plant communities. Yet, how competitive interactions are influenced by polyploidy that has a widespread incidence in plants remains largely unknown. To evaluate the hypothesis of competitive asymmetry between polyploids and diploids, we competed tetraploid and diploid plants of perennial herbaceous Chrysanthemum indicum L. (Asteraceae) at different relative frequencies under contrasting soil water contents. We quantified the interaction intensity between competing plants of the same (intraploidy) and different ploidy levels (interploidy), and measured functional traits related to gas exchange and plant water use to understand the underlying mechanisms. The stronger competitive effect of tetraploids on diploids than that of diploids on tetraploids provided evidence for the competitive asymmetry. As a stronger competitor, tetraploids were limited more by individuals of their own than by diploids. Such competitive asymmetry was not only maintained under reduced soil water content, but also translated into higher above‐ground biomass of tetraploids. Tetraploids showed more resource‐acquisitive traits than diploids under high soil water content and more resource‐conservative traits under reduced soil water content. As such, the higher trait plasticity in tetraploids than diploids likely explained the competitive asymmetry. Synthesis. These results elucidate the nature and magnitude of species interactions between polyploid and diploid plants under changing environments and the underlying mechanisms, and provide important insights into the prevalence and persistence of polyploid plants under a changing climate.