TY  - JOUR
AB  - (1) Environmental conditions experienced in the past may lead to intraspecific differences
in ecological and chemical traits of plants, which likely affect future responses to
altered or new environments. Whether competition by neighbors is such a trait-shaping
factor is not yet well-known. We aimed to understand how the level of ancestral plant
competition affects traits related to plant fitness and resource allocation, reproduction,
and (phyto-)toxin accumulation in offspring, and whether a potential differentiation in
these traits can be found in different geographic origins of which one belongs to the native
and one to the invaded range. (2) We compared differentiation of the following traits in
offspring plants of multiple populations in Erodium cicutarium (Geraniaceae): biomass,
seed production, seed traits related to dispersal and germination, and concentrations
of foliar mono- and sesquiterpenes. We tested the allelopatic potential of aqueous
extracts of the same E. cicutarium plants on seeds of five different plant families. (3)
In plants originating from populations that experienced high levels of competition, we
found twice as high monoterpene concentrations. These plants also produced more
biomass and a higher proportion of ripe to unripe seeds until harvesting. Seeds originating
from high competition sites were shorter. Aqueous E. cicutarium leaf extracts with
high terpenoid content reduced radicle length of Zea mays and radicle and hypocotyl
length of E. cicutarium seedlings. (4) The results of this study provide first evidence
that the surrounding vegetation may shape chemo-ecological plant traits that may be
fundamental for competitive ability. Our study calls for more research testing whether
competition experienced in the native range may lead to an enhanced capability of plants
to establish populations and spread in a new range.
DA  - 2019
DO  - 10.3389/fevo.2019.00392
LA  - eng
PY  - 2019
T2  - Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
TI  - Past competition affects offspring foliar terpenoid concentrations, seed traits, and fitness in the invasive forb Erodium cicutarium (Geraniaceae)
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0070-pub-29385109
Y2  - 2024-11-22T04:46:37
ER  -