Can transgenerational plasticity contribute to the invasion success of annual plant species?

• Published in: Oecologia 2014-09, Vol.176 (1), p.95-106
• Main Authors: Fenesi, Annamária, Dyer, Andrew R., Geréd, Júliánna, Sándor, Dorottya, Ruprecht, Eszter
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Physiological - physiology; Amaranthus - genetics; Amaranthus - growth & development; Amaranthus albus; Amaranthus retroflexus; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Asteraceae - genetics; Asteraceae - growth & development; Biological and medical sciences; Biomass; Biomass production; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Ciliata; Comparative studies; Ecological invasion; Ecology; Environment; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Galinsoga; Galinsoga parviflora; General aspects; Hydrology/Water Resources; Indigenous species; Inheritance Patterns - genetics; Inheritance Patterns - physiology; Introduced Species; Invasive species; Life Sciences; Linear Models; Offspring; Phenotype; Phenotypic traits; Phenotypic variations; Plant Sciences; Plant species; Plants; Plasticity; Population Dynamics; POPULATION ECOLOGY; Population ecology - Original research; Population growth; Seeds; Species; Water; Water availability; Water treatment
• ISSN: 0029-8549; 1432-1939
• DOI: 10.1007/s00442-014-2994-7

Adaptive transgenerational plasticity (TGP), i.e., significantly higher fitness when maternal and offspring conditions match, might contribute to the population growth of non-native species in highly variable environments. However, comparative studies that directly test this hypothesis are lacking. Therefore, we performed a reciprocal split-brood experiment to compare TGP in response to N and water availability in single populations of two invasive (Amaranthus retroflexus, Galinsoga parviflora) and two congeneric non-invasive introduced species (Amaranthus albus, Galinsoga ciliata). We hypothesized that the transgenerational effect is adaptive: (1) in invasive species compared with non-invasive adventives, and (2) in stressful conditions compared with resource-rich environments. The phenotypic variation among offspring was generated, in large part, by our experimental treatments in the maternal generation; therefore, we demonstrated a direct TGP effect on the offspring's adult fitness. We found evidence, for the first time, that invasive and non-invasive adventive species differ regarding the expression of TGP in the adult stage, as adaptive responses were found exclusively in the invasive species. The manifestation of TGP was more explicit under resource-rich conditions; therefore, it might contribute to the population dynamics of non-native species in resource-rich sites rather than to their ecological tolerance spectra.