11
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
1 collections
    0
    shares

      Publish your biodiversity research with us!

      Submit your article here.

      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Eco-physiological performance may contribute to differential success of two forms of an invasive vine, Dolichandra unguis-cati, in Australia

      , , , ,
      NeoBiota
      Pensoft Publishers

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisher
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Invasive plant species are hypothesized as being more efficient at resource acquisition and use, resulting in faster growth than co-occurring non-invasive plant species. Nonetheless, some findings suggest that trait differences between invasive and non-invasive species are context dependent. In this study, two forms of an invasive vine species, Dolichandraunguis-cati, were used to test the context-dependent hypothesis. Dolichandraunguis-catiis a weed of national significance in Australia with two different forms: the ‘long pod’ (LP) and ‘short pod’ (SP). The two forms have different levels of distribution on the eastern Seaboard of the continent, with the SP form occurring extensively in both States of Queensland and New South Wales while the LP form is found only in isolated sites in South-East Queensland. This study examines whether differences in eco-physiological performance could be responsible for differential success of the two forms. A partially factorial experiment was set up in controlled conditions where potted plants of both forms were grown under two levels of light, water and nutrient resources (high and low) for 15 months. We measured several traits that are known to correlate with plant performance and resource use efficiency (RUE). The SP form exhibited higher values of carbon assimilation, RUE, number of subterranean tubers and leaf nitrogen than the LP form. However, the LP form produced greater biomass than the SP form, with the difference driven mainly by high resource conditions. The LP form displayed significantly higher phenotypic integration (number of traits significantly correlated) than the SP form in response to all treatments while the SP form exhibited higher phenotypic integration than the LP form in response to high resource conditions only. The SP form displayed traits that are well suited for successful colonization, possibly explaining its increased success in Australia, while the LP form possessed traits of opportunistic plants. Overall, we find that the two forms of the weedy vine deploy different carbon economies in response to resource conditions, which is evidence of the context-dependent trait hypothesis.

          Related collections

          Most cited references61

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: not found
          • Article: not found

          Disturbance, Diversity, and Invasion: Implications for Conservation

            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: not found
            • Article: not found

            The plant traits that drive ecosystems: Evidence from three continents

              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: not found
              • Article: not found

              Performance Comparisons of Co-Occurring Native and Alien Invasive Plants: Implications for Conservation and Restoration

                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                NeoBiota
                NB
                Pensoft Publishers
                1314-2488
                1619-0033
                May 10 2019
                May 10 2019
                : 46
                : 23-50
                Article
                10.3897/neobiota.46.33917
                d3bb295e-08b9-496d-8017-c92476547abf
                © 2019

                http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

                History

                Comments

                Comment on this article