Selection in space and time: Individual tree growth is adapted to tropical forest gap dynamics

Tropical forest dynamics are driven by growth and survival strategies of tree species in relation to treefall gaps; however, the ecological and evolutionary roles of intraspecific variation in the response to forest gaps remain unexplored. Here, we associated genomic data of three related tree species of the genus Symphonia in a French Guiana forest with (1) each individual tree's growth potential, and (2) with its light and competition environment estimated based on 33 years of forest monitoring in plots covering 120 ha. We show that individual trees within species have genetically determined growth strategies that are adapted to the local light and competition environments, which are shaped by the time since the last treefall. Within species, fast-growing genotypes are more frequent in light-enriched environments and slow-growing genotypes in more shaded environments. Forest gap dynamics is thus a strong selection driver that shapes adaptive strategies and maintains genetic variation within tropical tree species.