Authors: Christine Krebs Esther Gerber Diethart Matthies Urs Schaffner
Publish Date: 2011/06/09
Volume: 167, Issue: 4, Pages: 1041-1052
Abstract
Hybridization has been proposed as a mechanism by which exotic plants can increase their invasiveness By generating novel recombinants hybridization may result in phenotypes that are better adapted to the new environment than their parental species We experimentally assessed the resistance of five exotic Fallopia taxa F japonica var japonica F sachalinensis and F baldschuanica the two hybrids F × bohemica and F × conollyana and the common European plants Rumex obtusifolius and Taraxacum officinale to four native European herbivores the slug Arion lusitanicus the moth Noctua pronuba the grasshopper Metrioptera roeselii and the beetle Gastrophysa viridula Leaf area consumed and relative growth rate of the herbivores differed significantly between the Fallopia taxa and the native species as well as among the Fallopia taxa and was partly influenced by interspecific variation in leaf morphology and physiology Fallopia japonica the most abundant Fallopia taxon in Europe showed the highest level of resistance against all herbivores tested The level of resistance of the hybrids compared to that of their parental species varied depending on hybrid taxon and herbivore species Genotypes of the hybrid F × bohemica varied significantly in herbivore resistance but no evidence was found that hybridization has generated novel recombinants that are inherently better defended against resident herbivores than their parental species thereby increasing the hybrid’s invasion success In general exotic Fallopia taxa showed higher levels of herbivore resistance than the two native plant species suggesting that both parental and hybrid Fallopia taxa largely escape from herbivory in EuropeWe thank Céline Ernst and Franziska Grözinger for help in the laboratory Gitta Grosskopf and Tim Haye for collecting some of the herbivores Christian Lexer and Heinz MüllerSchärer for helpful suggestions to improve the manuscript and the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt DBU for financial support to Christine Krebs
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