title: Climatic conditions and herbivory effects on morphological plasticity of Argania spinosa.
abstract: The main objective of this paper was to look into the morphological differentiation patterns and phenotypic plasticity in four populations of Argania spinosa with environmentally contrasted conditions. Mean response, magnitude and pattern of morphological intra- and inter-population plasticity indexes were measured and analyzed in order to identify which characters contribute the most to the acclimation of this species. Populations growing in the ecological optimum of the species presented the lowest plasticity, while those growing in the most stressed habitats showed an increased morphological variability. The study of four populations showed that human pressure seems to play an important function in the regulation of morphological characters. However, climatic conditions seem to play a significant role in the increase of morphological plasticity.
authors.affiliation: Faculté Polydisciplinaire de Taroudant, Université Ibn Zohr, Morocco. fzainlhout@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: Fatima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ain-Lhout
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zunzunegui
authors.forename: Mari Cruz
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Díaz Barradas
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jáuregui
authors.forename: Tarik
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tagma
authors.forename: Said
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boutaleb
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002980:Climate; D017753:Ecosystem; D060434:Herbivory; D006801:Humans; D009018:Morocco; D010641:Phenotype; D029632:Sapotaceae / Q000254:growth & development*; D014197:Trees / Q000254:growth & development