Putative local adaptations modulate the interactions of the carnivorous plant Drosera uniflora Willd (1809) (Droseraceae) with cushion and shrub nurse plants

Cushion and shrub plants are typical high mountain nurse plants. In Magellanic tundras of the Cordillera del Sarao on the coast of Chile, the carnivorous plant Drosera uniflora grows in association with cushions of Donatia fascicularis and the shrubs Chusquea montana var. nigricans and Lepidothamnus fonkii. The different microhabitats for recruitment, in addition to the limited gene flow of D. uniflora, enable us to hypothesise that this plant manifests putative local adaptations, expressed in seed germination and population abundance. Our aim was to evaluate the local adaptation of D. uniflora to cushion and shrub microhabitats by estimating germination and abundance. Local adaptation of seed germination was determined by means of reciprocal transplant experiments. Abundance was determined in small plots located inside, on the edge and outside the nurse plants. Seed origin and growth substrate play a decisive role in D. uniflora germination. Seeds that originate from cushions plant habitat and germinate in the same substrate do so in greater numbers than when those which originate from shrubby habitats. Conversely, seeds that originate from shrubby habitat and germinate in the same substrate do not exhibit significant differences. Abundance was always greater inside than outside of the nurse plants. We concluded that availability and quality of different microhabitats for seed germination and recruitment, together with a limited gene flow, would trigger putative local adaptations in D. uniflora, modulating a long history of interactions with the plants that act as nurse plants. Las plantas de cojines y arbustos son plantas de nodrizas típicas de alta montaña. En las tundras Magallánicas de la Cordillera del Sarao, en la costa de Chile, la planta carnívora Drosera uniflora crece en asociación con los cojines de Donatia fascicularis y los arbustos Chusquea montana var. nigricans y Lepidothamnus fonkii. Los diferentes microhábitats para el reclutamiento, además del flujo genético limitado de D. uniflora, nos permiten hipotétizar que esta planta manifiesta adaptaciones locales putativas, expresadas en la germinación de las semillas y la abundancia de la población. Nuestro objetivo fue evaluar la adaptación local de D. uniflora en microhábitats de nodrizas y arbustos mediante la estimación de la germinación y la abundancia. La adaptación local de la germinación de las semillas se determinó mediante experimentos de trasplante recíproco. La abundancia se determi