Evolution of increased competitive ability may explain dominance of introduced species in ruderal communities

Abstract

The evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis encapsulates the importance of evolution and ecology for biological invasions. According to this proposition, leaving specialist herbivores at home frees introduced plant species from investing limited resources in defense to instead use those resources for growth, selecting for individuals with reduced defense, enhanced growth, and, consequently, increased competitive ability. We took a multispecies approach, including ancestral and non-native populations of seven weeds, as well as seven coexisting local weeds, to explore all three predictions (i.e., lower defense, greater growth, and better ability to compete in non-native than ancestral populations), the generality as an invasion mechanism for a given system, and community-level consequences of EICA. We assessed plant defenses by conducting herbivory trials with a generalist herbivore. Therefore,

Trait evolution during a rapid global weed invasion despite little genetic differentiation

“…Both capitula number and seed size showed a positive relationship with plant height suggesting no trade‐off between growth and reproduction. The evolution of increased biomass (Barker et al, 2017) and competitive abilities (Hierro et al, 2022) previously reported in this species, combined with the evolution of seed size that we found in our study could represent an important part of C . solstitialis invasion success.…”

“…Nonetheless, admixture benefits seem to decrease as the genetic divergence between parents increases as exemplified by previous studies on C. solstitialis that performed experimental crosses between geographically distinct populations and measured plant growth, competitive ability, and seed production (Barker et al, 2019;Irimia et al, 2021;Montesinos & Callaway, 2018a). As for the capitula number, P ST estimates seem The evolution of increased biomass (Barker et al, 2017) and competitive abilities (Hierro et al, 2022) previously reported in this species, combined with the evolution of seed size that we found in our study could represent an important part of C. solstitialis invasion success.…”

Unveiling the resistance of native weed communities: insights for managing invasive weed species in disturbed environments

“…Environmental conditions can determine weed invasion success. Weeds are extremely adaptable plants that can survive in a variety of environments, but they are most successful when conditions offer them a competitive advantage over the local flora (Hierro et al, 2022). Weeds tend to show ecological tolerance to a wide range of temperature and precipitation patterns (Brainard, 2018;Turbelin & Catford, 2021;Wilsey, 2021).…”

“…Centaurea solstitialis , Chenopodium album , etc. (Hierro et al ., 2022). In addition, disturbed environments may have greater competition, predation, or herbivory, creating unfavourable conditions for both native and invasive species (McEvoy, 2018; Ramawat & Goyal, 2020).…”

Effects of salt stress on interspecific competition between an invasive alien plant Oenothera biennis and three native species

“…While there is extensive literature on the interactions between paired invasive alien and native species ( Čuda et al., 2015 ; Legault et al., 2018 ; Pyšek et al., 2019 ; Hierro et al., 2022 ), pair-wise experiments using invasive and native plant species may be biased ( Vilà and Weiner, 2004 ) because the selection of invaders and natives for the study is non-random and tends to favor highly competitive invaders and relatively less competitive natives ( Zhang and van Kleunen, 2019 ). The resident community within the introduced range of the invasive species is composed of multiple native species with different functional traits, and invasive species usually face different competitive pressures from multiple native species ( Zhang et al., 2020 ).…”