Specialist Insect Herbivore and Light Availability Do Not Interact in the Evolution of an Invasive Plant

Zhang, Zhijie J.; Pan, Xuebiao; Zhang, Ziyan; He, Kate S.; Li, Bo

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0139234

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Moreover, due to the predominant mode of vegetative reproduction in the introduced ranges, competition among kin (i.e., competition among ramets of the same genotype) is very likely to occur there. In previous studies, we found that native genotypes were highly branched and grew more frequently at low abundance, while introduced genotypes were less branched and usually formed dense, monospecific stands (Pan, Weiner, & Li, ; Zhang, Pan, Zhang, He, & Li, ; Figure ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Evolution of increased intraspecific competitive ability following introduction: The importance of relatedness among genotypes

et al. 2018

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A long‐standing explanation for invasion success is that invasive plants could evolve to be more competitive following introduction. This evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis, however, has seldom been tested with regard to intraspecific competition. Given that plants can display different responses to related and unrelated conspecifics, the evolution of intraspecific competitive ability might be specific to genotypes of different relatedness. Here, we grew five native (South American) and five introduced (North American) genotypes of the clonal herbaceous invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides alone, with above‐ground competition from kin (the same genotype) or from one of two types of strangers (another genotype from the same range or another genotype from the other range). When grown alone, introduced and native genotypes produced similar total biomass and storage‐root biomass. However, in response to intraspecific competition, introduced genotypes showed increases in total biomass and stem length, and a decrease in specific stem length, whereas native genotypes showed the opposite pattern. When grown with kin instead of strangers, introduced genotypes showed an increase in branch number, whereas native genotypes showed the opposite. Synthesis. Our study provided evidence for evolution of increased intraspecific competitive ability in an invasive plant. We also found, for the first time, that the interactions among kin were likely to shift from competition towards facilitation following introduction.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Evolution of increased intraspecific competitive ability following introduction: The importance of relatedness among genotypes

et al. 2018

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“…We did not distinguish between tolerance to specialist, generalist and simulated herbivory when testing these three factors, since only a few studies in our dataset used the same genetic material across herbivory treatments (Joshi and Vrieling , Meyer and Hull‐Sanders , Zhang et al. ), and studies that controlled the damage level usually applied simulated herbivory. The three factors tested in our study had no significant effects on mean effect sizes of differences in tolerance between introduced and native populations (Appendix : Table S1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Zhang et al. ). Classical theory predicts tradeoffs between resistance and tolerance because both are costly (Van der Meijden et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting effects of specialist and generalist herbivores on resistance evolution in invasive plants

Zhang

Pan

Blumenthal³

et al. 2018

Ecology

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Invasive alien plants are likely to be released from specialist herbivores and at the same time encounter biotic resistance from resident generalist herbivores in their new ranges. The Shifting Defense hypothesis predicts that this will result in evolution of decreased defense against specialist herbivores and increased defense against generalist herbivores. To test this, we performed a comprehensive meta-analysis of 61 common garden studies that provide data on resistance and/or tolerance for both introduced and native populations of 32 invasive plant species. We demonstrate that introduced populations, relative to native populations, decreased their resistance against specialists, and increased their resistance against generalists. These differences were significant when resistance was measured in terms of damage caused by the herbivore, but not in terms of performance of the herbivore. Furthermore, we found the first evidence that the magnitude of resistance differences between introduced and native populations depended significantly on herbivore origin (i.e., whether the test herbivore was collected from the native or non-native range of the invasive plant). Finally, tolerance to generalists was found to be higher in introduced populations, while neither tolerance to specialists nor that to simulated herbivory differed between introduced and native plant populations. We conclude that enemy release from specialist herbivores and biotic resistance from generalist herbivores have contrasting effects on resistance evolution in invasive plants. Our results thus provide strong support for the Shifting Defense hypothesis.

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“…() have found Triadica sebifera tends to similarly increase C/N ratio in response to specialist, Gadirtha inexacta , and two generalists, Grammodes geometrica and Cnidocampa flavescens . The reason underlying the differential response of C/N ratio in different research systems may be that the defenses of the herbaceous plants which evolved in fertile soils on disturbed sites like A. philoxeroides are generally nitrogen rather than carbon based and have higher tolerance to herbivory relative to more slowly growing woody plants (Bryant, Chapin, & Klein, ; Niesenbaum, ; Zhang, Pan, Zhang, He, & Li, ). Therefore, the C/N ratio response may vary in different types of plant growth form.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Population (Origin) of Alternanthera philoxeroides was treated as a random factor. Statistical significance is marked in bold and indicated as: *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001 (Bryant, Chapin, & Klein, 1983;Niesenbaum, 1992;Zhang, Pan, Zhang, He, & Li, 2015). Therefore, the C/N ratio response may vary in different types of plant growth form.…”

Section: Specificity Of Elicitation In Different Plant Traits and Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Specificity of herbivore‐induced responses in an invasive species, Alternanthera philoxeroides (alligator weed)

Mu¹,

Fang²,

Pan³

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Herbivory‐induced responses in plants can both negatively affect subsequently colonizing herbivores and mitigate the effect of herbivory on the host. However, it is still less known whether plants exhibit specific responses to specialist and generalist herbivores in non‐secondary metabolite traits and how specificity to specialists and generalists differs between invasive and native plant populations. We exposed an invasive plant, Alternanthera philoxeroides, to Agasicles hygrophila (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae; specialist), Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae; generalist), manual clipping, or application of exogenous jasmonic acid and examined both the specificity of elicitation in traits of fitness (e.g., aboveground biomass), morphology (e.g., root:shoot ratio), and chemistry (e.g., C/N ratio and lignin), and specificity of effect on the subsequent performance of A. hygrophila and S. litura. Then, we assessed variation of the specificity between invasive and native populations (USA and Argentina, respectively). The results showed S. litura induced higher branching intensity and specific leaf area but lower C/N ratio than A. hygrophila, whereas A. hygrophila induced higher trichome density than S. litura. The negative effect of induction on subsequent larval growth was greater for S. litura than for A. hygrophila. Invasive populations had a weaker response to S. litura than to A. hygrophila in triterpenoid saponins and C/N ratio, while native populations responded similarly to these two herbivores. The specific effect on the two herbivores feeding on induced plants did not vary between invasive and native populations. Overall, we demonstrate specificity of elicitation to specialist and generalist herbivores in non‐secondary metabolite traits, and that the generalist is more susceptible to induction than the specialist. Furthermore, chemical responses specific to specialist and generalist herbivores only exist in the invasive populations, consistent with an evolutionary change in specificity in the invasive populations.

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Specialist Insect Herbivore and Light Availability Do Not Interact in the Evolution of an Invasive Plant

Cited by 7 publications

References 50 publications

Evolution of increased intraspecific competitive ability following introduction: The importance of relatedness among genotypes

Evolution of increased intraspecific competitive ability following introduction: The importance of relatedness among genotypes

Contrasting effects of specialist and generalist herbivores on resistance evolution in invasive plants

Specificity of herbivore‐induced responses in an invasive species, Alternanthera philoxeroides (alligator weed)

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