Data from: Response to joint selection on germination and flowering phenology depends on the direction of selection

Background and Aims. Flowering and germination time are components of phenology, a complex phenotype that incorporates a number of traits. In natural populations, selection is likely to occur on multiple components of phenology at once. However, we have little knowledge of how joint selection on several phenological traits influences evolutionary response. Methods. We conducted one generation of artificial selection for all combinations of early and late germination and flowering on replicated lines within two independent base populations in the herb Campanula americana. We then measured response to selection and realized heritability for each trait. Results. Response to selection and heritability were greater for flowering time than germination time, indicating greater evolutionary potential of this trait. Selection for earlier phenology, both flowering and germination, did not depend on the direction of selection on the other trait. Whereas response to selection to delay germination and flowering was greater when selection on the other trait was in the opposite direction (e.g. early germination, late flowering), indicating a negative genetic correlation between the traits. Conclusions. The extent to which correlations shaped response to selection depended on the direction of selection. Therefore the genetic correlation between timing of germination and flowering varies across the trait distributions. The negative correlation between germination and flowering time found when selecting for delayed phenology follows theoretical predictions of constraint for traits that jointly determine life history schedule. Whereas the lack of constraint found when selecting for an accelerated phenology suggests a reduction of the covariance due to strong selection favoring earlier flowering and a shorter life cycle. This genetic architecture, in turn, will facilitate further evolution of the early phenology often favored in warming climates.Galloway et al Ecol Evol DataData for "Response to joint selection on germination and flowering phenology depends on the direction of selection". First sheet is data for Table 1/Figure 2. Remaining sheets contain data used to calculate heritability estimates. See comments on column headers for identification information if different from the text.Funding provided by: National Science FoundationCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001Award Number: DEB-1020717, DEB-145768