Current and potential distribution of Senecio madagascariensis Poir. (fireweed), an invasive alien plant in Japan

Abstract

The short‐lived perennial (sometimes annual) plant, Senecio madagascariensis Poir. (fireweed) is native to South Africa and Madagascar. This plant is an invasive weed becoming naturalized over a wide range of the world, and has caused agricultural damage mainly due to its toxicity to livestock. In Japan, fireweed was first found in 1976, and has been spreading throughout the country. In this study, the current distribution of fireweed in Japan was investigated. Using a maximum entropy ecological niche modeling algorithm, the relationship between the distribution records of fireweed and climatic variables was modeled, and the potential distribution of fireweed was predicted. Many growing sites of fireweed have been observed on the Pacific coast and Seto Inland Sea coast. The northern and southern ends of the current distribution were the Pacific coast of southern Tohoku (36.9172°N, 140.8613°E) and southern Kyushu (31.5654°N, 130.3438°E), respectively. The results of modeling showed that mean temperature in the warmest quarter was the most influential predictor, and suggested that geographical distribution of fireweed in Japan is restricted mainly by temperature, not by precipitation. The predicted areas of potential distribution were mainly on the Pacific coast and eastern Seto Inland Sea coast. Of the regions where fireweed had not been found, the following regions were predicted as potential distribution areas of fireweed: southern Kanto region along Tokyo Bay, coastal area of western Tokai region, western part of Seto Inland Sea coast and northern Kyushu. The Pacific coast of central Tohoku (39.058°N, 141.843°E) was predicted as the northern end of the potential distribution, and Amami‐oshima Island (28.304°N, 129.519°E) as the southern end.

Ecology and Management of Weeds in a Changing Climate

“…Tsutsumi modeled the potential range expansion of Senecio madagascariensis Poir. (fireweed) in Japan using a maximum entropy ecological niche modeling approach (Maxent) [88]. Tsutsumi predicted that the northern extent of Senecio madagascariensis could shift from where it is currently at 36.9° N in southern Tohoku to 39.1° N in central Tohoku, with temperature in the warmest quarter of the year identified as the key variable predicting its range [88].…”

“…(fireweed) in Japan using a maximum entropy ecological niche modeling approach (Maxent) [88]. Tsutsumi predicted that the northern extent of Senecio madagascariensis could shift from where it is currently at 36.9° N in southern Tohoku to 39.1° N in central Tohoku, with temperature in the warmest quarter of the year identified as the key variable predicting its range [88]. Thus, if temperatures continue to rise, invasive plants like Senecio madagascariensis that require higher temperatures to complete their life cycle would be predicted to move northward on the Japanese archipelago.…”

Abundance Across Seasons of Insect Herbivore Taxa Associated with the InvasiveSenecio madagascariensis(Asteraceae), in Its Native Range in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

“…(Asteraceae) is an annual or short-lived perennial herb that has been introduced to several countries worldwide via contaminated agricultural produce (Hilliard 1977;Csurhes & Navie 2010;. Commonly known as fireweed because of its profusion of yellow flowers, the plant has become invasive in Australia (Sindel & Michael 1992;, Hawaii (Le Roux et al 2006), Japan (Tsutsumi 2011), Brazil (Cruz et al 2010), Uruguay, Colombia (Le Roux et al 2010) and northern Argentina (Lopez et al 2008). It invades pastures and reduces their carrying capacity (McFadyen & Sparks 1996;Thorne et al 2005;Le Roux et al 2006;Prentis et al 2010) but also contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that are toxic to livestock (Thorne et al 2005;Gardner et al 2006;Csurhes & Navie 2010).…”

“…Following confirmation of the plant's centre of origin and its recent declaration as a "Weed of National Significance" in Australia, interest in biological control has been rekindled. As part of a collaborative research agreement between Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a quantitative survey of the insect herbivores associated with S. madagascariensis in KwaZulu-Natal was carried out during 2011-2012(Egli 2013. As a result, several insect herbivore taxa that attack the floral and structural tissues of the plant were proposed as candidate agents (Egli 2013).…”

Morphological differentiation across the invasive range in Senecio madagascariensis populations

“…Senecio madagascariensis Poir. (Asteraceae) is a species native to South Africa and Madagascar that is currently considered invasive in Australia 15 , south-east Asia 16 , South America 17 , 18 and North America 19 . In South America, this species was recorded for the first time in Argentina, where it was found in the port area in Bahía Blanca (Buenos Aires province) in the 1940s 17 .…”