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The influence of shelter on abundance of the invasive dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, at its northern range limit

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Abstract

Invasive species represent a threat to many ecosystems but are nearly absent from arctic and subarctic Canada. The treeline town of Churchill, Manitoba, has an unusually high number of invasive species due to the presence of a grain port and railway, but few of these species have spread to the surrounding tundra; for instance, common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) currently is restricted primarily to town, in contrast with its native congener, Taraxacum lacerum. To investigate whether the distribution of T. officinale is affected by the tendency of buildings to create warm, sheltered microenvironments, we surveyed the abundance of both dandelion species relative to existing structures in town. We established transects extending up to 5 m from each side of 23 buildings, and recorded the number of plants in 50 cm × 50 cm quadrats along each transect. We found that T. officinale performed better on the south sides of buildings, that flowering decreased away from buildings, and that these effects were stronger for T. officinale than the native T. lacerum. Soil temperatures were warmer on the south rather than on the north-facing sides, providing a possible explanation. Our results show that the distribution of T. officinale currently is more influenced by human-created microclimate compared to the abundance of its native relative. However, T. officinale may spread beyond these refuges as the climate continues to warm.

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Original data are available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the people of Churchill for their generosity in welcoming this research, and Vicki Zhang and Brianna Wong for assistance in the field. Logistical support was provided by the Churchill Northern Studies Centre. Funding was provided by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Polar Knowledge Canada, the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, and the University of Toronto Mississauga.

Funding

This work was supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant and Northern Supplement to PMK (Grant number: RGPIN-2022-03579), funding from the Northern Scientific Training Program of Polar Knowledge Canada and the Northern Research Fund of the Churchill Northern Studies Centre to FDS, and the University of Toronto Mississauga.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada

    Francine D. B. Da Silva & Peter M. Kotanen

Authors
  1. Francine D. B. Da Silva
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  2. Peter M. Kotanen
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Contributions

Both authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection and analysis were performed by Francine Da Silva. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Francine Da Silva and both authors commented on subsequent versions of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Peter M. Kotanen.

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Da Silva, F.D.B., Kotanen, P.M. The influence of shelter on abundance of the invasive dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, at its northern range limit. Biol Invasions (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-024-03339-w

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