20.500.12556/RUP-23466 Leaf size and shape show contrasting relationships with evolutionary lineages in Daphne blagayana Freyer Phenotypic variation does not always correspond closely to genetic structure within species, particularly for morphological traits that are also influenced by environmental conditions. We examined whether leaf morphology in Daphne blagayana reflects previously identified phylogeographic structures and whether size- and shape-related traits differ in the hierarchical distribution of variation. Leaf morphometric analyses were performed on 3439 leaves collected from 596 shrubs in 21 populations covering the entire distribution range of the species. Ten leaf morphological traits were analysed using nested mixed-effects models, principal component analysis (PCA), MANOVA, Mantel tests and additional conservative mixed-effects models accounting for population-level structure. Leaf size-related traits showed stronger population-level differentiation and clearer geographic structuring, whereas shape-related traits exhibited higher within-shrub variation and weaker correspondence with phylogeographic structure. PCA and MANOVA revealed significant morphological differentiation among the three previously defined evolutionarily significant units (ESUs), although overlap among groups remained considerable. When population-level structure was taken into account, ESU effects were reduced but remained detectable for leaf length and selected shape-related traits. The northwestern ESU was characterized by larger and broader leaves, while differences between the central–southeastern and central ESUs were associated mainly with leaf shape traits. Mantel analysis revealed a weak but significant correlation between geographic and morphological distances among populations, indicating that geographic distance contributes to, but does not fully explain, morphological differentiation. The results show that leaf morphology in D. blagayana is associated with the previously identified phylogeographic structure of the species and that size- and shape-related traits differ markedly in their degree of geographic differentiation and hierarchical variation. However, because phylogeographic and geographic structure are spatially confounded in the present dataset, their individual effects on leaf morphology cannot be statistically separated. The study also highlights the importance of hierarchical sampling, appropriate statistical analyses, and cautious interpretation of genotype–phenotype correspondence in observational studies of intraspecific morphological variation. Fenotipska variabilnost ne ustreza vedno tesno genetski strukturi znotraj vrst, zlasti pri morfoloških znakih, na katere vplivajo tudi okoljske razmere. Preučevali smo, ali morfologija listov vrste Daphne blagayana odraža predhodno ugotovljene filogeografske strukture ter ali se znaki, povezani z velikostjo in obliko, razlikujejo v hierarhični porazdelitvi variabilnosti. Morfometrične analize listov so bile izvedene na 3439 listih, zbranih s 596 grmov 21 populacij, ki so pokrivale celotno območje razširjenosti vrste. Analizirali smo deset morfoloških znakov listov z uporabo gnezdenih modelov z mešanimi učinki, analize glavnih komponent (PCA), MANOVA, Mantelovih testov in dodatnih konservativnih modelov z mešanimi učinki, ki so upoštevali strukturo na ravni populacij. Znaki, povezani z velikostjo listov, so pokazali izrazitejšo diferenciacijo na ravni populacij in jasnejšo geografsko strukturiranost, medtem ko so znaki, povezani z obliko, izkazovali večjo variabilnost znotraj posameznih grmov in šibkejše ujemanje s filogeografsko strukturo. Analizi PCA in MANOVA sta pokazali značilno morfološko diferenciacijo med tremi predhodno opredeljenimi evolucijsko pomembnimi enotami (ESU), čeprav je bilo prekrivanje med skupinami precejšnje. Ko smo upoštevali strukturo na ravni populacij, so se učinki ESU zmanjšali, vendar so ostali zaznavni pri dolžini listov in nekaterih znakih, povezanih z obliko. Za severozahodno ESU so bili značilni večji in širši listi, medtem ko so bile razlike med osrednjo–jugovzhodno in osrednjo ESU povezane predvsem z znaki oblike listov. Mantelova analiza je pokazala šibko, vendar značilno korelacijo med geografskimi in morfološkimi razdaljami med populacijami, kar kaže, da geografska razdalja prispeva k morfološki diferenciaciji, vendar je ne pojasnjuje v celoti. Rezultati kažejo, da je morfologija listov pri vrsti D. blagayana povezana s predhodno ugotovljeno filogeografsko strukturo vrste ter da se znaki, povezani z velikostjo in obliko, izrazito razlikujejo glede na stopnjo geografske diferenciacije in hierarhične variabilnosti. Vendar zaradi prostorske povezanosti filogeografske in geografske strukture v obravnavanem podatkovnem naboru njunih posameznih učinkov na morfologijo listov ni mogoče statistično ločiti. Študija poudarja tudi pomen hierarhičnega vzorčenja, ustreznih statističnih analiz in previdne interpretacije povezave med genotipom in fenotipom v opazovalnih raziskavah znotrajvrstne morfološke variabilnosti. leaf morphology leaf morphometrics phylogeographic structure population differentiation evolutionarily significant units intraspecific variation morfologija lista morfometrija lista filogeografska struktura diferenciacija populacij evolucijsko pomembne enote znotrajvrstna variabilnost true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-08-13 10:23:23 2026-08-13 10:23:23 2026-08-14 03:08:01 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 18 str. issue 8, [article no.] 948 Vol. 17 Aug. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova NiDoloceno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2026-08-11 581.45:582.685.8 1999-4907 10.3390/f17080948 287459075 RAZ_Brus_Robert_2026.pdf RAZ_Brus_Robert_2026.pdf 1 2A3744C838E19C0406D061D52BFE71B1 2a0939580264344209e1431c6206fda4d8c058cd943ffe12d7b82034b6718df5 2da77b03-96f0-11f1-9e8d-005056ac49c0 https://repozitorij.upr.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=34389 https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/17/8/948 1 05c06a13-96f0-11f1-9e8d-005056ac49c0 https://repozitorij.upr.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=34388 Fakulteta za matematiko, naravoslovje in informacijske tehnologije 0 0 0