Associations between genomic ancestry, genome size and capitula morphology in the invasive meadow knapweed hybrid complex (Centaurea × moncktonii) in eastern North America

Closely related invasive species may be controlled by the same demographic life stages

Invasive species that are closely related to each other may have similar population dynamics and, therefore, be controlled by targeting similar life stages. We studied two invasive knapweed species, spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe subsp. micranthos) and the hybrid meadow knapweed complex (Centaurea × moncktonii) in New York, USA, to determine their individual population growth rates (λ) across several sites over three years. Both knapweed species had growth rates that were greater than 1 (spotted knapweed λ ranged from 1.005–1.440; meadow knapweed λ ranged from 1.541–2.408), but there was high variability between years and sites. One study population of meadow knapweed was composed primarily of individuals of black knapweed ancestry (C. nigra), a species that, while introduced, is not invasive. For this population, the projected dynamics were stable (λ approximately 1). Elasticity analysis showed that the flowering-to-flowering stage contributed the most to population growth rate for six of seven sites and three additional transitions were also influential for four of seven sites of spotted and meadow knapweed: the seedling-to-vegetative stage, vegetative-to-flowering stage and flowering-to-seedling stage. We simulated how increasing vital rates would affect population growth and found that both spotted and meadow knapweed followed the same pattern. The vital rate of established seedlings maturing to flowering plants had the greatest effect on population growth, followed by the survival of new and established seedlings. In all cases, the responses were non-linear, with small initial changes having a large effect. Increases in the vital rates of later stages also tended to have a positive effect on growth rate, but the effects were more modest. Although the sensitivity analysis indicated that early vital rates had the largest effect on population growth, targeting these stages is not practical for management. Rather, reducing older life stage survival or delaying maturation of vegetative individuals would be more effective. The similarity between the population dynamics and how each life stage contributes to population growth provides support that protocols developed for one species should be effective for the other species with the caveat that any biological control agent should be directly tested on the target species before being utilised.

Digitized collections elucidate invasion history and patterns of awn polymorphism in Microstegium vimineum

PREMISE

Digitized collections can help illuminate the mechanisms behind the establishment and spread of invasive plants. These databases provide a record of traits in space and time that allows for investigation of abiotic and biotic factors that influence invasive species.

METHODS

Over 1100 digitized herbarium records were examined to investigate the invasion history and trait variation of Microstegium vimineum. Presence-absence of awns was investigated to quantify geographic patterns of this polymorphic trait, which serves several functions in grasses, including diaspore burial and dispersal to germination sites. Floret traits were further quantified, and genomic analyses of contemporary samples were conducted to investigate the history of M. vimineum's introduction and spread into North America.

RESULTS

Herbarium records revealed similar patterns of awn polymorphism in native and invaded ranges of M. vimineum, with awned forms predominating at higher latitudes and awnless forms at lower latitudes. Herbarium records and genomic data suggested initial introduction and spread of the awnless form in the southeastern United States, followed by a putative secondary invasion and spread of the awned form from eastern Pennsylvania. Awned forms have longer florets, and floret size varies significantly with latitude. There is evidence of a transition zone with short-awned specimens at mid-latitudes. Genomic analyses revealed two distinct clusters corresponding to awnless and awned forms, with evidence of admixture.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results demonstrate the power of herbarium data to elucidate the invasion history of a problematic weed in North America and, together with genomic data, reveal a possible key trait in introduction success: presence or absence of an awn.