Niche dynamics of alien species do not differ among sexual and apomictic flowering plants
- Author(s)
- Agnes Dellinger, Franz Essl, Diego Hojsgaard, Bernhard Kirchheimer, Simon Klatt, Wayne Dawson, Jan Pergl, Petr Pysek, Mark Van Kleunen, Ewald Weber, Marten Winter, Elvira Hörandl, Stefan Dullinger
- Abstract
Biological invasions can be associated with shifts of the species’ climatic niches but the incidence of such shifts is under debate. The reproductive system might be a key factor controlling such shifts because it influences a species’ evolutionary flexibility. However, the link between reproductive systems and niche dynamics in plant invasions has been little studied so far.
We compiled global occurrence data sets of 13 congeneric sexual and apomictic species pairs, and used principal components analysis (PCA) and kernel smoothers to compare changes in climatic niche optima, breadths and unfilling/expansion between native and alien ranges. Niche change metrics were compared between sexual and apomictic species.
All 26 species showed changes in niche optima and/or breadth and 14 species significantly expanded their climatic niches. However, we found no effect of the reproductive system on niche dynamics. Instead, species with narrower native niches showed higher rates of niche expansion in the alien ranges.
Our results suggest that niche shifts are frequent in plant invasions but evolutionary potential may not be of major importance for such shifts. Niche dynamics rather appear to be driven by changes of the realized niche without adaptive change of the fundamental climatic niche.- Organisation(s)
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research
- External organisation(s)
- Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Universität Konstanz, Czech Academy of Sciences, Charles University Prague, Universität Potsdam, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
- Journal
- New Phytologist
- Volume
- 209
- Pages
- 1313-1323
- No. of pages
- 11
- ISSN
- 0028-646X
- Publication date
- 2015
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 106008 Botany, 106012 Evolutionary research, 106001 General biology, 106042 Systematic botany
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physiology, Plant Science
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/c9492b94-dd02-4f30-9278-bf37b486c1e0