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Evolution of growth but not structural or chemical defense in Verbascum thapsus (common mullein) following introduction to North America

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Abstract

Post-introduction evolution of increased growth or reproduction has been observed in many species of invasive plants; however, it is not consistently associated with a loss of defense, as predicted by the influential evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis. Inconsistent support for the EICA hypothesis likely reflects the fact that, although invasive plants are released from attack by some enemies, typically specialists, they often do not escape attack from generalists. Thus, different types of defense (e.g., structural versus chemical) may evolve in different directions following introduction. We used a common garden experiment to test whether a shift in allocation among defenses (as opposed to a simple increase or decrease in a single defense) is associated with increased growth in introduced Verbascum thapsus populations. Introduced populations had significantly greater shoot biomass than natives. However, root biomass was similar between ranges, and highly variable, resulting in only marginal differences in total biomass. Mean investment in all three defenses was remarkably similar between the native and introduced populations, providing no evidence for range-level, post-introduction evolution of defense. This finding was consistent with the fact that, despite significant population-level variability for all defenses, there was little evidence of trade-offs between growth and defense or among different types of defense. These results suggest that evolution of increased growth in V. thapsus is not fueled by decreased allocation to defense, and that selection on defense may vary more at the population scale than the continental scale.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Alecu Diaconu, Brad Harmon, Hariet Hinz, John Parker, René Sforza, and Jennifer Williams for collecting seeds; Erik Hardy for measuring leaf toughness; and Christa Fettig and two anonymous reviewers for providing helpful feedback on an earlier version of the manuscript. We also thank the Colorado Native Plant Society for partial funding of the chemical analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Degree Program in Ecology and Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Christina Alba & Ruth Hufbauer

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA

    M. Deane Bowers

  3. USDA-ARS, Rangeland Resources Research Unit, 1701 Center Avenue, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA

    Dana Blumenthal

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  1. Christina Alba
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  2. M. Deane Bowers
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  4. Ruth Hufbauer
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Correspondence to Christina Alba.

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Alba, C., Deane Bowers, M., Blumenthal, D. et al. Evolution of growth but not structural or chemical defense in Verbascum thapsus (common mullein) following introduction to North America. Biol Invasions 13, 2379–2389 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-011-0050-7

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