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Johnson JS, Cantrell RS, Cosner C, Hartig F, Hastings A, Rogers HS, Schupp EW, Shea K, Teller BJ, Yu X, Zurell D, Pufal G. Rapid changes in seed dispersal traits may modify plant responses to global change. AoB Plants 2019; 11:plz020. [PMID: 31198528 PMCID: PMC6548345 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plz020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
When climatic or environmental conditions change, plant populations must either adapt to these new conditions, or track their niche via seed dispersal. Adaptation of plants to different abiotic environments has mostly been discussed with respect to physiological and demographic parameters that allow local persistence. However, rapid modifications in response to changing environmental conditions can also affect seed dispersal, both via plant traits and via their dispersal agents. Studying such changes empirically is challenging, due to the high variability in dispersal success, resulting from environmental heterogeneity, and substantial phenotypic variability of dispersal-related traits of seeds and their dispersers. The exact mechanisms that drive rapid changes are often not well understood, but the ecological implications of these processes are essential determinants of dispersal success, and deserve more attention from ecologists, especially in the context of adaptation to global change. We outline the evidence for rapid changes in seed dispersal traits by discussing variability due to plasticity or genetics broadly, and describe the specific traits and biological systems in which variability in dispersal is being studied, before discussing some of the potential underlying mechanisms. We then address future research needs and propose a simulation model that incorporates phenotypic plasticity in seed dispersal. We close with a call to action and encourage ecologists and biologist to embrace the challenge of better understanding rapid changes in seed dispersal and their consequences for the reaction of plant populations to global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy S Johnson
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
- Dorena Genetic Resource Center, USDA Forest Service, Cottage Grove, OR, USA
| | | | - Chris Cosner
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Florian Hartig
- Theoretical Ecology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Alan Hastings
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Haldre S Rogers
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Eugene W Schupp
- Department of Wildland Resources & Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
| | - Katriona Shea
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Brittany J Teller
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Xiao Yu
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Damaris Zurell
- Department of Geography, Humboldt-University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Land Change and Science, Swiss Federal Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Gesine Pufal
- Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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Szűcs M, Salerno PE, Teller BJ, Schaffner U, Littlefield JL, Hufbauer RA. The effects of agent hybridization on the efficacy of biological control of tansy ragwort at high elevations. Evol Appl 2019; 12:470-481. [PMID: 30828368 PMCID: PMC6383738 DOI: 10.1111/eva.12726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Revised: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 10/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The success rate of weed biological control programs is difficult to evaluate and the factors affecting it remain poorly understood. One aspect which is still unclear is whether releases of multiple, genetically distinct populations of a biological control agent increase the likelihood of success, either by independent colonization of different environmental niches or by hybridization that may increase the agent's fitness and adaptive ability. Since hybridization is often invoked to explain the success of unintentionally introduced exotic species, hybridization among biocontrol agents may be similarly important in shaping the effectiveness of biological control programs. In this study, we first evaluated intraspecific hybridization among populations of a weed biological control agent, the ragwort flea beetle, Longitarsus jacobaeae. These insects were introduced as part of a classical biological control program from Italy and Switzerland. We genotyped 204 individuals from 15 field sites collected in northwest Montana, and an additional 52 individuals that served as references for Italian and Swiss populations. Bayesian analysis of population structure assigned seven populations as pure Swiss and one population as pure Italian, while intraspecific hybrid individuals were detected in seven populations at frequencies of 5%-69%. Subsequently, we conducted a 2-year exclusion experiment using six sites with Swiss beetles and three with hybrid beetles to evaluate the impact of biological control. We found that biological control by Swiss beetles and by hybrid beetles is effective, increasing mortality of the target plant, Jacobaea vulgaris, by 42% and 45%, and reducing fecundity of surviving plants by 44% and 72%, respectively. Beetle densities were higher and mortality of larger plants was higher at sites with hybrids present. These results suggest that hybridization of ragwort flea beetles at high-elevation sites may improve biological control of tansy ragwort and that intraspecific hybridization of agents could benefit biological control programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianna Szűcs
- Department of EntomologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichigan
- Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest ManagementColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColorado
| | | | - Brittany J. Teller
- Department of BiologyPennsylvania State UniversityState CollegePennsylvania
| | - Urs Schaffner
- Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences InternationalDelémontSwitzerland
| | - Jeffrey L. Littlefield
- Department of Land Resources and Environmental SciencesMontana State UniversityBozemanMontana
| | - Ruth A. Hufbauer
- Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest ManagementColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColorado
- Graduate Degree Program in EcologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColorado
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Hulvey KB, Teller BJ. Site conditions determine a key native plant's contribution to invasion resistance in grasslands. Ecology 2018; 99:1257-1264. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2017] [Accepted: 03/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kristin B. Hulvey
- Environmental Studies Department University of California 1156 High Street Santa Cruz California 95064 USA
| | - Brittany J. Teller
- Biology Department The Pennsylvania State University 208 Mueller Lab University Park Pennsylvania 16803 USA
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Teller BJ, Zhang R, Shea K. Seed release in a changing climate: initiation of movement increases spread of an invasive species under simulated climate warming. DIVERS DISTRIB 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Brittany J. Teller
- Department of Biology and IGDP in Ecology the Pennsylvania State University 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park 16802 PA USA
- Wildland Resources Utah State University Old Main Hill Logan 84322 UT USA
| | - Rui Zhang
- Department of Biology and IGDP in Ecology the Pennsylvania State University 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park 16802 PA USA
- Harvard Forest Harvard University 324 North Main Street Petersham MA 01366 USA
| | - Katriona Shea
- Department of Biology and IGDP in Ecology the Pennsylvania State University 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park 16802 PA USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany J. Teller
- Department of Wildland Resources Utah State University Logan UT 84322 USA
| | - Peter B. Adler
- Department of Wildland Resources Utah State University Logan UT 84322 USA
| | - Collin B. Edwards
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY 14853 USA
| | - Giles Hooker
- Department of Biological Statistics and Computational Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY 14853 USA
| | - Stephen P. Ellner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY 14853 USA
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Teller BJ, Marden JH, Shea K. Covariation in abscission force and terminal velocity of windborne sibling seeds alters long‐distance dispersal projections. Methods Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Brittany J. Teller
- Department of Biology and IGDP in Ecology The Pennsylvania State University 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park 16802 PA USA
- Wildland Resources Utah State University 5230 Old Main Logan 84322 UT USA
| | - James H. Marden
- Department of Biology and IGDP in Ecology The Pennsylvania State University 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park 16802 PA USA
| | - Katriona Shea
- Department of Biology and IGDP in Ecology The Pennsylvania State University 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park 16802 PA USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany J. Teller
- Department of Biology and IGDP in Ecology; The Pennsylvania State University; 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park 16802 PA USA
- Wildland Resources; Utah State University; 5230 Old Main Logan 84322 UT USA
| | - Adam D. Miller
- Department of Biology and IGDP in Ecology; The Pennsylvania State University; 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park 16802 PA USA
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute; 1500 Remount Rd. Front Royal VA 22630 USA
| | - Katriona Shea
- Department of Biology and IGDP in Ecology; The Pennsylvania State University; 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park 16802 PA USA
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