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Can adaptive modulation of traits to urban environments facilitate Ricinus communis L. invasiveness?

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Abstract

This paper addresses the phenotypic variation among Ricinus communis L. populations in four urban habitat types (road verges, garbage dumps, construction debris, and natural area) in Delhi, India, by evaluating important traits such as plant height, basal circumference, seeds per plant, seed size, seed weight, specific leaf area, and reproductive index. An important biochemical marker, proline, considered as a good plant performance indicator under stress was also quantified in leaves of R. communis to evaluate its response in different habitats. Interestingly, the species showed significant variation in plant height, specific leaf area, seed size, seed weight, and leaf proline content in different habitat types. Leaf proline content was positively related to plant height, specific leaf area, and seed size while negatively related to the total number of seeds/plant. Interestingly, reproductive index, calculated as a ratio of the total number of seeds to the plant height also showed a negative relation with leaf proline content. Results indicated that R. communis exhibits adaptive modulation of growth, reproductive traits, and leaf proline content in various urban habitats which contributes to invasiveness, range expansion, and establishment of the species. The study also gives evidence of how morphological and physiological traits could directly affect invasiveness of R. communis.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on previous versions of this manuscript. NG acknowledges Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) support from University Grants Commission, New Delhi, India. PPS acknowledges University of Delhi for financial support. GPS acknowledges funding support from University of Delhi, India, as Seed and Research Grant and Department of Science and Technology, India.

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  1. Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India

    Neha Goyal, P. Pardha-Saradhi & Gyan P. Sharma

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  1. Neha Goyal
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  2. P. Pardha-Saradhi
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  3. Gyan P. Sharma
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Correspondence to Gyan P. Sharma.

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Goyal, N., Pardha-Saradhi, P. & Sharma, G.P. Can adaptive modulation of traits to urban environments facilitate Ricinus communis L. invasiveness?. Environ Monit Assess 186, 7941–7948 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3978-0

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