Is the Success of Plant Invasions the Result of Rapid Adaptive Evolution in Seed Traits? Evidence from a Latitudinal Rainfall Gradient.

ABSTRACT: It has been widely suggested that invasion success along broad environmental gradients may be partially due to phenotypic plasticity, but rapid evolution could also be a relevant factor for invasions. Seed and fruit traits can be relevant for plant invasiveness since they are related to dispersal, germination, and fitness. Some seed traits vary along environmental gradients and can be heritable, with the potential to evolve by means of natural selection. Utilizing cross-latitude and reciprocal-transplant experiments, we evaluated the adaptive value of seed thickness as assessed by survival and biomass accumulation in Taraxacum officinale plants. In addition, thickness of a seed and Endosperm to Seed Coat Proportion (ESCP) in a second generation (F2) was measured to evaluate the heritabilit

SUBMITTER: Molina-Montenegro MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5835042 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature