Data from: Ecotypes of an ecologically dominant prairie grass (Andropogon gerardii) exhibit genetic divergence across the U.S. Midwest grasslands environmental gradient
Miranda M. Gray, Paul St. Amand, Nora M. Bello, Mary Knapp, Karen A. Garrett, Theodore J. Morgan, Sara G. Baer, Brian R. Maricle, Eduard D. Akhunov, Loretta C. Johnson & Matthew B. Galliart
Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) is an ecologically dominant grass with wide distribution across the environmental gradient of U.S. Midwest grasslands. This system offers an ideal natural laboratory to study the nature of population divergence and adaptation in spatially varying climates. Objectives were to: (i) characterize neutral genetic diversity and structure within and among three regional ecotypes derived from 11 prairies across the U.S. Midwest environmental gradient, (ii) distinguish between the relative roles of isolation-by-distance (IBD)...