NEWS
New tool to predict which
plants will become invasive
Research predicts which species are more likely to become invasive based on biological traits
University of Vermont
Reprinted From: http://bit.ly/2IRh8YH
A
round the world, over 13,000
plant species have embedded
themselves in new environments
-- some of them integrate with the na-
tive plants, but others spread aggres-
sively. Understanding why some plants
become invasive, while others do not is
critical to preserving the world's biodi-
versity.
New research from the University of
Vermont provides insight to help pre-
dict which plants are likely to become
invasive in a particular community. The
results showed that non-native plants
are more likely to become invasive
when they possess biological traits that
are different from the native community
and that plant height can be a competi-
tive advantage.
"Invasive species can have a devastat-
ing effect on our natural ecosystems
and cause long-term environmental and
economic problems," said Jane Molof-
sky, a professor in UVM's Department
of Plant Biology and senior author of
the study published November 6, 2018
in Nature Communications. "Our aim
was to leverage big data and statistical
techniques to evaluate this problem in a
novel way by comparing traits of native
and non-native plants across a range of
plant communities."
Working with a team of international
collaborators, Molofsky and colleagues
at UVM explored differences in biologi-
cal traits of 1,855 native and non-native
plant species across six different habitat
types in temperate Central Europe.
In each habitat type, the authors com-
pared the traits of native and non-na-
tive plants. Of the non-native plants,
they looked at differences in those that
"naturalized," meaning they reproduce
in nature without direct intervention
by humans but did not aggressively
spread, and invasive species, those that
spread over long distances and often
cause serious ecosystem damage.
Being taller promotes success
In almost all of the studied habitats, the
findings showed non-invasive plants
Grassroots
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Figure 1: While native to Europe and Asia, Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota)
is an invasive plant in many parts of North America. New research from UVM
finds a single biological trait - plant height - may help predict which plant spe-
cies are likely to become invasive in a given environment. (Photo: Milan Chytry)
shared similar traits with the native
plant community, such as plant height,
leaf characteristics and average seed
weight. In contrast, invasive species ap-
peared to have similar but slightly dif-
ferent biological characteristics -- they
were similar enough to be present in
the same habitats but just different
enough to have unique characteristics
that allowed them to flourish.
For instance, some invasive plants were
taller on average compared with the
native species. This phenomenon sug-
gests the additional height of some in-
vasive plants gives them better access
to light and enables them to outcom-
pete native plants and spread more ag-
gressively.
The findings support a novel theory of
invasion called the edge of trait space
model that suggests non-native plants
can co-exist with a native plant commu-
nity when they share a set of specific bi-
ological traits but can invade when they
have slightly different adaptations to
local environmental conditions. There-
fore, newly introduced species must be
similar enough to thrive in a community
of native species, but their differences
may enhance their invasion success.
The results indicate that a single, easily
measurable trait -- plant height -- can be
a highly predictive factor in determining
which plants may become invasive in a
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given environment. While the predic-
tive traits may differ among different
flora, the research suggests eradication
efforts should focus on non-native plant
species that differ from their native
communities.
"We need new predictive tools to help
inform policy and management deci-
sions around conservation and biodi-
versity," said co-author Brian Beckage,
a professor in the Department of Plant
Biology and Department of Computer
Science, and affiliate of the UVM Gund
Institute for the Environment. "Our
hope is that this model can be used as
a screening tool to determine which
plants have the highest probability of
becoming invasive in the future."
Story Source
Materials provided by University of Ver-
mont.
Journal Reference
1. Jan Divíšek, Milan Chytrý, Brian
Beckage, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Zde-
ñka Lososová, Petr Pyšek, David M.
Richardson, Jane Molofsky. Similari-
ty of introduced plant species to na-
tive ones facilitates naturalization,
but differences enhance invasion
success. Nature Communications,
2018; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-
018-06995-4
08