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A multi‐species experiment in their native range indicates pre‐adaptation of invasive alien plant species
Author(s) -
Schlaepfer Daniel R.,
Glättli Melanie,
Fischer Markus,
van Kleunen Mark
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.03114.x
Subject(s) - invasive species , biology , introduced species , range (aeronautics) , adaptation (eye) , native plant , herbaceous plant , plant species , solidago canadensis , ecology , biomass (ecology) , local adaptation , alien , germination , botany , demography , neuroscience , sociology , politics , citizenship , political science , law , composite material , population , materials science
Summary• To understand prerequisites of biological invasions, it is imperative to know whether species have traits that pre‐adapt them to become invasive elsewhere. However, few experimental studies have explicitly tested this by comparing traits between invasive and noninvasive species in their native range instead of in the nonnative range. • We used native plant material of 14 European congeneric pairs of herbaceous species that were all introduced to North America, and of which one species per pair is invasive. • In our germination and common garden experiment with and without fertilizer addition, the invasive species germinated faster, produced more biomass and had a higher proportion of flowering plants than the noninvasive congeners. • Our results indicate that species traits, which lead to a high plant performance in the native range, can confer pre‐adaptation to become invasive. We suggest that such traits may be especially relevant for use in risk‐assessment protocols before introduction elsewhere.