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Comparison of the herbivore defense and competitive ability of ancestral and modern genotypes of an invasive plant, Lespedeza cuneata
Author(s) -
Beaton Laura L.,
Van Zandt Peter A.,
Esselman Elizabeth J.,
Knight Tiffany M.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
oikos
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.672
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1600-0706
pISSN - 0030-1299
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2011.18893.x
Subject(s) - herbivore , biology , invasive species , resistance (ecology) , lespedeza , noxious weed , genotype , grassland , competition (biology) , introduced species , natural selection , native plant , selection (genetic algorithm) , ecology , gene , weed , genetics , artificial intelligence , computer science
The evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis provides a compelling explanation for the success of invasive species. It contends that because alien plants have escaped their coevolved natural enemies, selection pressures favor a diversion of resources from herbivore defense to traits that confer increased competitive ability. Here, we provide evidence for EICA in the noxious grassland invader Lespedeza cuneata , by comparing the ancestral genotype introduced to North America in 1930 with modern‐day invasive (North American) and native (Japanese) genotypes. We found that the invasive genotype was a better competitor than either the native or the ancestral genotype. Further, the invasive genotype exhibited greater induced resistance but lower constitutive resistance than the ancestral and native genotypes. Our results suggest that selection has played a pivotal role in shaping this invasive plant species into a more aggressive, but less constitutively defended competitor.