Evaluating Darwin's naturalization hypothesis in experimental plant assemblages: phylogenetic relationships do not determine colonization success.

ABSTRACT: Darwin's naturalization hypothesis (DNH) proposes that colonization is less likely when the colonizing species is related to members of the invaded community, because evolutionary closeness intensifies competition among species that share similar resources. Studies that have evaluated DNH from correlational evidence have yielded controversial results with respect to its occurrence and generality. In the present study we carried out a set of manipulative experiments in which we controlled the phylogenetic relatedness of one colonizing species (Lactuca sativa) with five assemblages of plants (the recipient communities), and evaluated the colonizing success using five indicators (germination, growth, flowering, survival, and recruitment). The evolutionary relatedness was calculated as the mea

SUBMITTER: Castro SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4139339 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature