Search

The natural history of introduced species is often unclear due to a lack of historical records. Even when historical information is readily available, important factors of the invasions such as genetic bottlenecks, hybridization, historical relationships among populations and adaptive changes are left unknown. In this study, we developed a set of nuclear, simple sequence repeat markers and used these to characterize the genetic diversity and population structure among native (Eurasian) and non-native (North and South American) populations of Centaurea solstitialis L., (yellow starthistle). We used these data to test hypotheses about the invasion pathways of the species that were based on historical and geographical records, and we make inferences about historical relationships among populations and demographic processes following invasion. We confirm that the center of diversity and the native range of the species is likely the eastern Mediterranean region in the vicinity of Turkey. From this region, the species likely proceeded to colonize other parts of Europe and Asia via a slow, stepwise range expansion. Spanish populations were the primary source of seed to invade South America via human-mediated events, as was evident from historical records, but populations from the eastern Mediterranean region were also important. North American populations were largely derived from South America, but had secondary contributors. We suggest that the introduction history of non-native populations from disparate parts of the native range have allowed not just one, but multiple opportunities first in South America then again in North America for the creation of novel genotypes via intraspecific hybridization. We propose that multiple intraspecific hybridization events may have created especially potent conditions for the selection of a noxious invader, and may explain differences in genetic patterns among North and South America populations, inferred differences in demographic processes, as well as morphological differences previously reported from common garden experiments.

Differences in morphological or ecological traits expressed by exotic species between their native and non-native ranges are often interpreted as evidence for adaptation to new conditions in the non-native ranges. In turn this adaptation is often hypothesized to contribute to the successful invasion of these species. There is good evidence for rapid evolution by many exotic invasives, but the extent to which these evolutionary changes actually drive invasiveness is unclear. One approach to resolving the relationship between adaptive responses and successful invasion is to compare traits between populations from the native and non-native ranges for both exotic invaders and congeners that are exotic but not invasive. We compared a suite of morphological traits that are commonly tested in the literature in the context of invasion for three very closely related species of Centaurea, all of which are sympatric in the same native and non-native ranges in Europe and North America. Of these, C. solstitialis is highly invasive whereas C. calcitrapa and C. sulphurea are not. For all three species, plants from non-native populations showed similar shifts in key traits that have been identified in other studies as important putative adaptive responses to post-introduction invasion. For example, for all three species plants from populations in non-native ranges were (i) larger and (ii) produced seeds that germinated at higher rates. In fact, the non-invasive C. calcitrapa showed the strongest trait shift between ranges. Centaurea solstitialis was the only species for which plants from the non-native range increased allocation to defensive spines, and allocated proportionally less resources to reproduction, patterns contrary to what would be predicted by theory and other empirical studies to enhance invasion. Our results suggest caution when interpreting the commonly observed increase in size and reproductive capacity as factors that cause exotics to become invaders.

The greater abundance of some exotic plants in their nonnative ranges might be explained in part by biogeographic differences in the strength of competition, but these competitive effects have not been experimentally examined in the field. We compared the effects of neighbors on the growth and reproduction of spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) in Europe, where it is native, and in Montana, where it is invasive. There were strong negative competitive effects of neighboring vegetation on C. stoebe growth and reproduction in Europe. In contrast, identical experiments in Montana resulted in insignificant impacts on C. stoebe. Although the mechanisms that produce this dramatic biogeographic difference in competitive outcome remain unknown, our results indicate that differences in net competitive interactions between ranges may contribute to the striking dominance of C. stoebe in parts of North America.

Recent studies suggest that the invasive success of Centaurea maculosa may be related to its stronger allelopathic effects on native North American species than on related European species, one component of the "novel weapons" hypothesis. Other research indicates that C. maculosa plants from the invasive range in North America have evolved to be larger and better competitors than conspecifics from the native range in Europe, a component of the "evolution of increased competitive ability" hypothesis. These hypotheses are not mutually exclusive, but this evidence sets the stage for comparing the relative importance of evolved competitive ability to inherent competitive traits. In a competition experiment with a large number of C. maculosa populations, we found no difference in the competitive effects of C. maculosa plants from North America and Europe on other species. However, both North American and European C. maculosa were much better competitors against plants native to North America than congeners native to Romania, collected in areas where C. maculosa is also native. These results are consistent with the novel weapons hypothesis. But, in a second experiment using just one population from North America and Europe, and where North American and European species were collected from a broader range of sites, competitive interactions were weaker overall, and the competitive effects of C. maculosa were slightly stronger against European species than against North American species. Also consistent with the novel weapons hypothesis, (+/-)-catechin had stronger effects on native North American species than on native European species in two experiments. Our results suggest that the regional composition of the plant communities being invaded by C. maculosa may be more important for invasive success than the evolution of increased size and competitive ability.