Populations of a widespread invader and co-occurring native species vary in phenotypic plasticity

Phenotypic plasticity can promote plant invasions and enhance impacts on native species, but little is known about variation in plasticity among invader populations compared with native species. Variation in plasticity among invader populations could inform more precise predictions of invader spread...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The New phytologist 2020-01, Vol.225 (1), p.584-594
Main Authors: Hiatt, Drew, Flory, S. Luke
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological evolution
common garden
Environmental impact
functional traits
Indigenous species
Introduced species
Invasive species
Native organisms
Native species
Phenotypes
Phenotypic plasticity
Phenotypic variations
plant invasions
Plasticity
Plasticity index
Populations
Principal components analysis
rapid evolution
RDPI
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Summary:Phenotypic plasticity can promote plant invasions and enhance impacts on native species, but little is known about variation in plasticity among invader populations compared with native species. Variation in plasticity among invader populations could inform more precise predictions of invader spread and impacts across heterogeneous resource environments. We used a common garden experiment with sun and shade treatments to test for variation in plasticity among 12 populations of an invasive grass (Imperata cylindrica), and to determine whether the invader exhibited greater plasticity than six native species that co-occur in the Southeast USA. Principal component analysis revealed that invader populations from different native ranges consistently varied from each other and native species in traits linked to more favorable phenotypes under resource limitation. Overall, the invader exhibited greater plasticity than native species did, as demonstrated by higher plasticity index values for traits such as plant height, leaf mass ratio, and root : shoot ratio. Variation in phenotypic plasticity among invader populations suggests the potential for evolution of plasticity, and greater plasticity of invader populations than native species may underlie invader dominance. Differences in plasticity among populations appears to play an important role in predictions of the spread and potentially the impacts of invasive species.
ISSN:0028-646X
1469-8137
DOI:10.1111/nph.16225