TY - JOUR T1 - Grow with the flow: a latitudinal cline in physiology is associated with more variable precipitation in <em>Mimulus cardinalis</em> JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/080952 SP - 080952 AU - Christopher D. Muir AU - Amy L. Angert Y1 - 2016/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/10/14/080952.abstract N2 - Local adaptation is one of the most ubiquitous observations in nature: organisms perform well in their natal environment, but poorly outside it. Correlation between traits and latitude, or latitudinal clines, are among the most common pieces of evidence for local adaptation, but identifying the traits under selection and the selective agents are challenging. Here, we investigated a latitudinal cline in growth and photosynthesis across 16 populations of the perennial herb Mimulus cardinalis (Phrymaceae). Using machine learning methods, we identify interannual variation in precipitation as a likely selective agent: Southern populations from more variable environments had higher photosynthetic rates and grew faster. We hypothesize that selection may favor a more annualized life history – grow now rather than save for next year – in environments where severe droughts occur more often. Thus our study provides insight into how species may adapt if Mediterranean climates become more variable due to climate change. ER -