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Increased chemical resistance explains low herbivore colonization of introduced seaweed

  • Plant Animal Interactions
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Abstract

The success of introduced species is often attributed to release from co-evolved enemies in the new range and a subsequent decreased allocation to defense (EICA), but these hypotheses have rarely been evaluated for systems with low host-specificity of enemies. Here, we compare herbivore utilization of the brown seaweed, Fucus evanescens, and its coexisting competitors both in its native and new ranges, to test certain predictions derived from these hypotheses in a system dominated by generalist herbivores. While F. evanescens was shown to be a preferred host in its native range, invading populations supported a less diverse herbivore fauna and it was less preferred in laboratory choice experiments with important herbivores, when compared to co-occurring seaweeds. These results are consistent with the enemy release hypothesis, despite the fact that the herbivore communities in both regions were mainly composed of generalist species. However, in contrast to the prediction of EICA, analysis of anti-grazing compounds indicated a higher allocation to defense in introduced compared to native F. evanescens. The results suggest that the invader is subjected to less intense enemy control in the new range, but that this is due to an increased allocation to defense rather than release from specialized herbivores. This indicates that increased resistance to herbivory might be an important strategy for invasion success in systems dominated by generalist herbivores.

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Acknowledgements

We thank G. Cervin and M. Karlsson for help with phlorotannin analyses, O. Eriksson, J. Ehrlén and two anonymous reviewers for comments on the manuscript and the staff at Tjärnö Marine Biological Laboratory and Sandgerði Marine Centre for hospitality and practical assistance. MBS wish to thank Agnar Ingólfsson for his valuable support. Financial support was provided by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, the Swedish Research council through contracts 621-2002-289 and 621-2004-2658, the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (Objective 2 West Sweden), the Icelandic Centre for Research (Rannís) and Stockholm Marine Research Centre. All experiments complied with the laws of Sweden and Iceland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Sofia A. Wikström & Lena Kautsky

  2. Institute of Biology, University of Iceland, Sturlugata 7, 101, Reykjavik, Iceland

    María B. Steinarsdóttir

  3. Department of Marine Ecology, Tjärnö Marine Biological Laboratory, Göteborg University, 452 96, Strömstad, Sweden

    Henrik Pavia

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  1. Sofia A. Wikström
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  2. María B. Steinarsdóttir
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  3. Lena Kautsky
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  4. Henrik Pavia
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Correspondence to Sofia A. Wikström.

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Communicated by Julia Koricheva

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Wikström, S.A., Steinarsdóttir, M.B., Kautsky, L. et al. Increased chemical resistance explains low herbivore colonization of introduced seaweed. Oecologia 148, 593–601 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-006-0407-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-006-0407-2

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