Latitudinal trends in growth, reproduction and defense of an invasive plant

Xiao, Li; Hervé, Maxime R.; Carrillo, Juli; Ding, Jianqing; Huang, Wei (2019). Latitudinal trends in growth, reproduction and defense of an invasive plant. Biological invasions, 21(1), pp. 189-201. Springer 10.1007/s10530-018-1816-y

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Invasive plants often occupy an array of habitats along wide latitudinal scales which differ considerably in climatic conditions and herbivory. Variation in plant traits across latitude may play an important role in invasion success, yet few studies have tested whether there is a latitudinal pattern in invasive plant traits. Here, we sampled individuals of the invasive plant Phytolacca americana at 15 field sites spanning 10° of latitude from 25.72° to 36.15°N in central and southern China. We measured traits related to growth (plant height, canopy width, number of branches and stem diameter), reproduction (fruits per raceme and racemes per plant) and anti-herbivory defense (leaf, stem, root and fruit saponin). Overall, we found no latitudinal patterns for plant size, reproductive output or defense in growth tissues. However, growth architecture was significantly related to latitude: number of stems increased, while stem diameter decreased with increasing latitude. Reproductive architecture was also significantly related to latitude: with increasing latitude, plants produced fewer fruits per raceme, but more racemes per plant. We also found defense in reproductive tissue (fruit saponin) increased with increasing latitude. These findings provide an important latitudinal perspective for resource allocation and adaptive strategy in invasive P. americana that may aid in management recommendations at regional scales.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS) > Biotic Interactions
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS)

UniBE Contributor:

Hervé, Maxime, Huang, Wei

Subjects:

500 Science > 580 Plants (Botany)

ISSN:

1387-3547

Publisher:

Springer

Language:

English

Submitter:

Peter Alfred von Ballmoos-Haas

Date Deposited:

04 Sep 2018 12:46

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:17

Publisher DOI:

10.1007/s10530-018-1816-y

Related URLs:

Uncontrolled Keywords:

environmental heterogeneity; latitudinal gradient; biotic pressures; Phytolacca americana; plant invasion; temperature and precipitation

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.119789

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/119789

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