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About the Authors:
Karen E. Mock
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliation: Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America
Colin M. Callahan
Affiliation: Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America
M. Nurul Islam-Faridi
Affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Institute of Forest Genetics, Forest Tree Molecular Cytogenetics Laboratory, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
John D. Shaw
Affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Ogden, Utah, United States of America
Hardeep S. Rai
Affiliation: Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America
Stewart C. Sanderson
Affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Shrub Sciences Laboratory, Provo, Utah, United States of America
Carol A. Rowe
Affiliation: Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America
Ronald J. Ryel
Affiliation: Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America
Michael D. Madritch
Affiliation: Department of Biology, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, United States of America
Richard S. Gardner
Affiliation: Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America
Paul G. Wolf
Affiliation: Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America
Introduction
Species distributions are the manifestation of complex evolutionary and ecological histories. Understanding the drivers of species distribution has long been a central theme in ecological research, and has taken on new urgency as society struggles to predict and mitigate the impacts of rapid climate change. Evolutionary and ecological effects are often nested, such that the distribution and diversity of a foundation species becomes a matrix influencing the distribution and diversity of dependent species [1]. Therefore, understanding the factors driving the distribution of widespread, foundation species can be insightful in understanding and predicting distributions of associated species and communities.
One of the intrinsic factors influencing plant distributions is clonality. Most plants are capable of some degree of both clonality and sexuality, and each reproductive mode is associated with particular advantages and costs [2]–[4]. Clonal size often increases with latitude [5], elevation [6]–[8], and position at range edges [9], and is thought to allow persistence in harsh...