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Avoidance by grazers facilitates spread of an invasive hybrid plant
Author(s) -
Grosholz E.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01409.x
Subject(s) - biology , invasive species , introduced species , herbivore , hybrid , spartina , ecology , palatability , native plant , plant ecology , alien species , agronomy , marsh , wetland , food science
Ecology Letters (2010) 13: 145–153 Abstract Biological invasions greatly increase the potential for hybridization among native and non‐native species. Hybridization may influence the palatability of novel hybrids to consumers potentially influencing invasion success; however, the palatability of non‐native hybrids relative to the parent species is poorly known. In contrast, studies of native‐only hybrids find they are nearly always more palatable to consumers than the parent species. Here, I experimentally demonstrate that an invasive hybrid cordgrass ( Spartina ) is dramatically less palatable to grazing geese than the native parent species. Using field and aviary experiments, I show that grazing geese ignore the hybrid cordgrass and preferentially consume native Spartina . I also experimentally demonstrate that reduced herbivory of the invasive hybrid may contribute to faster spread in a California estuary. These results suggest that biological invasions may increase future opportunities for creating novel hybrids that may pose a greater risk to natural systems than the parent species.