Phenotypic variation of 38 European Ambrosia artemisiifolia populations measured in a common garden experiment

  • The knowledge of phenotypic variation in the European range of the highly allergenic Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. (common ragweed) is not entirely complete, even though it is an invasive species of utmost concern. We hypothesized the prevalence of phenotypic differentiations between common ragweed populations in the introduced range, and we assumed that those differentiations were related to environmental conditions at the points of origin. Using a common garden experiment, we investigated biomass allocation, growth rates, and flowering phenology of 38 European common ragweed populations originating from a major geographical gradient. We observed considerable phenotypic variation in growth parameters and flowering phenology, e.g. mean aboveground biomass varied from 23.3 to 47.3 g between the populations. We were able to relate most measured traits with environmental parameters prevailing at the points of origin. For example, early growth of ruderal populations was highly correlated with temperature and precipitation at the point of origin. Late growth and flowering phenology were highly correlated with latitude, i.e. individuals from northern populations grew smaller and flowered and dispersed their pollen and seeds up to 5 weeks earlier than individuals from southern populations. We also found a longitudinal gradient in flowering phenology which has not yet been described. The existence of such a high variability in the introduced range may facilitate further range expansion. We suggest that the correlation with environmental variables rests upon genetic variation possibly due to adaptations to the respective environment. To clarify if such adaptation results from multiple events of introduction or as evolutionary response after introduction, genetic investigations are needed.

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Metadaten
Author:Marion Carmen Leiblein-WildGND, Oliver Tackenberg
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-366302
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-014-0644-y
ISSN:1573-1464
ISSN:1387-3547
Parent Title (English):Biological invasions
Publisher:Springer Science + Business Media B. V.
Place of publication:Dordrecht
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of Completion:2015
Date of first Publication:2014/02/11
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2015/04/29
Tag:Adaptation; Common ragweed; Europe; Flowering phenology; Growth rate; Invasive species; Neobiota
Volume:16
Issue:9
Page Number:13
First Page:2003
Last Page:2015
Note:
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.
HeBIS-PPN:368952932
Institutes:Biowissenschaften / Biowissenschaften
Angeschlossene und kooperierende Institutionen / Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft
Biowissenschaften / Institut für Ökologie, Evolution und Diversität
Fachübergreifende Einrichtungen / Biodiversität und Klima Forschungszentrum (BiK-F)
Dewey Decimal Classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 58 Pflanzen (Botanik) / 580 Pflanzen (Botanik)
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Sammlung Biologie / Sondersammelgebiets-Volltexte
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - Namensnennung 4.0