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A hybrid beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria × A. breviligulata) is more productive and outcompetes its non-native parent species

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Abstract

The ability of non-native species to successfully invade new ecosystems sometimes involves evolutionary processes such as hybridization. Hybridization can produce individuals with superior traits that give them a competitive advantage over their parent species, allowing for rapid spread. Here we assess growth, functional morphology, and species interactions between two non-native beachgrass species (Ammophila arenaria and A. breviligulata) and their recently discovered hybrid (A. arenaria × A. breviligulata) on the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast. We asked whether the hybrid beachgrass differs from its parent species in morphology and growth, whether it competes with its parent species, and, if so, what are the potential mechanisms of competition. Plant taxa were grown in low- and high-density monocultures and in two-way interactions in a common garden environment. We show that the hybrid grew taller and more densely, with greater total biomass, than either parent species. The hybrid was also the better competitor, resulting in the model prediction of competitive exclusion against A. breviligulata and, depending on its relative abundance, A. arenaria. The hybrid displays a mixed ‘guerilla–phalanx’ growth form that allows it to spread laterally and achieve high shoot densities, giving it a competitive advantage. Given the current dominance of A. breviligulata compared to A. arenaria in most of the region where these taxa co-occur, we suggest that the hybrid will grow, compete, and spread quickly with potentially widespread consequences for the two non-native Ammophila congeners and the dunes they build.

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Baye (1990) and Hacker et al. (2012)

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Data availability

Datasets used in this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

Code developed in this study is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to the Hatfield Marine Science Center staff, especially C. Moffett, B. Butler, and J. Lewis for help with installation and maintenance of the experiment, to R. Antaki, R. Askerooth, M. Barker, D. Fee, H. Fulton-Bennett, H. Ly, B. Lynn, C. Magel, Z. Meunier, C. Nye, V. Quennessen, C. Ringer, and J. Stepanek for their invaluable help in the field, and to OSU undergraduate students H. Ly and H. Le Boeuf who processed plant samples in the lab.

Funding

This work was supported by a NOAA Oregon Sea Grant (NA18OAR4170072) grant to SDH and FSB and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and Mamie Markham Research Award (Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR) to RSM.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331-2914, USA

    Rebecca S. Mostow, Felipe S. Barreto & Sally D. Hacker

Authors
  1. Rebecca S. Mostow
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  2. Felipe S. Barreto
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  3. Sally D. Hacker
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Contributions

RSM and SDH conceived and designed the experiment. RSM performed the experiments and analyzed the data, with assistance from SDH and FSB. RSM and SDH wrote the manuscript, and all authors reviewed and edited the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sally D. Hacker.

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Additional information

Communicated by Jennifer Funk.

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Mostow, R.S., Barreto, F.S. & Hacker, S.D. A hybrid beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria × A. breviligulata) is more productive and outcompetes its non-native parent species. Oecologia (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-024-05548-5

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