本地种与外来种水生植物在不同基质营养下的生长比较

近年来,生物入侵由于其对生态系统,环境,经济等多方面造成的后果日益严重,逐渐成为目前全球普遍关注的生态问题。对于植物而言,外来入侵种不仅会大大降低本地物种的存活率,而且对本地物种的分布也会造成很大程度的负面影响。不仅如此,外来入侵种还会对本地水生或陆生生态系统造成十分严重的影响和破坏。随着国内外专家学者对外来种研究的深入,许多有关外来种入侵机制的假说和理论不断被提出。其中以资源假说(Resource Hypothesis,Davis 等 2000)研究的最为广泛和深入。在资源假说中,Davis等提出:伴随着一定数量繁殖体,外来物种的入侵会随着资源(例如光,营养和水份)的增加而加剧。为了验证(1)外来种和本地种的表现是否存在差异,如果存在,这种是否也会随着资源的增加而增强?(2)外来种与本地种的差异是否对我们预测和防治入侵有帮助?本文在此基础上,采用4种水生外来种,水鳖科(Hydrocharitaceae)两种,小二仙草科(Haloragidaceae)狐尾藻属(Myriophyllum)两种,与本地同科或同属且形态相似的3种水生植物为实验材料。分别配制两种不同营养级别的基质环境,比较了在高、低营养基质环境中外来种和本地种与生长相关的参数指标。结果显示:在高营养基质和低营养基质环境中,本地种较外来种更大地积累其生物量并且拥有更高的相对生长速率(relative growth rate)。结果还显示:在侧枝的生物量分配方面,外来种较本地种显著增高。由于断枝是水生植物无性繁殖的重要手段之一,并且断枝由侧枝或主茎受到生物或非生物的扰动产生。我们使用侧枝生物量的分配这一指标来间接反映水生植物的无性繁殖能力。结果表明,本地种较外来种能较好适应当地不同的基质营养环境;但是在无性繁殖体的传播方面,外来种较本地种占有一定的优势。因此,我们尝试提出:对外来水生植物的防治应继续以管理本地水生植物的栖息地和保护本地水生植物多样性为主,并且应加大对外来水生植物无性繁殖体特别是断枝传播的管理和控制力度。     

Beaver herbivory on aquatic plants

Herbivores have strong impacts on marine and terrestrial plant communities, but their impact is less well studied in benthic freshwater systems. For example, North American beavers (Castor canadensis) eat both woody and non-woody plants and focus almost exclusively on the latter in summer months, yet their impacts on non-woody plants are generally attributed to ecosystem engineering rather than herbivory. Here, we excluded beavers from areas of two beaver wetlands for over 2 years and demonstrated that beaver herbivory reduced aquatic plant biomass by 60%, plant litter by 75%, and dramatically shifted plant species composition. The perennial forb lizard’s tail (Saururus cernuus) comprised less than 5% of plant biomass in areas open to beaver grazing but greater than 50% of plant biomass in beaver exclusions. This shift was likely due to direct herbivory, as beavers preferentially consumed lizard’s tail over other plants in a field feeding assay. Beaver herbivory also reduced the abundance of the invasive aquatic plant Myriophyllum aquaticum by nearly 90%, consistent with recent evidence that native generalist herbivores provide biotic resistance against exotic plant invasions. Beaver herbivory also had indirect effects on plant interactions in this community. The palatable plant lizard’s tail was 3 times more frequent and 10 times more abundant inside woolgrass (Scirpus cyperinus) tussocks than in spatially paired locations lacking tussocks. When the protective foliage of the woolgrass was removed without exclusion cages, beavers consumed nearly half of the lizard’s tail leaves within 2 weeks. In contrast, leaf abundance increased by 73–93% in the treatments retaining woolgrass or protected by a cage. Thus, woolgrass tussocks were as effective as cages at excluding beaver foraging and provided lizard’s tail plants an associational refuge from beaver herbivory. These results suggest that beaver herbivory has strong direct and indirect impacts on populations and communities of herbaceous aquatic plants and extends the consequences of beaver activities beyond ecosystem engineering.     

Predicting invasiveness in exotic species: do subtropical native and invasive exotic aquatic plants differ in their growth responses to macronutrients?

We investigated whether plasticity in growth responses to nutrients could predict invasive potential in aquatic plants by measuring the effects of nutrients on growth of eight non-invasive native and six invasive exotic aquatic plant species. Nutrients were applied at two levels, approximating those found in urbanized and relatively undisturbed catchments, respectively. To identify systematic differences between invasive and non-invasive species, we compared the growth responses (total biomass, root:shoot allocation, and photosynthetic surface area) of native species with those of related invasive species after 13 weeks growth. The results were used to seek evidence of invasive potential among four recently naturalized species. There was evidence that invasive species tend to accumulate more biomass than native species ( P  = 0.0788). Root:shoot allocation did not differ between native and invasive plant species, nor was allocation affected by nutrient addition. However, the photosynthetic surface area of invasive species tended to increase with nutrients, whereas it did not among native species ( P  = 0.0658). Of the four recently naturalized species, Hydrocleys nymphoides showed the same nutrient-related plasticity in photosynthetic area displayed by known invasive species. Cyperus papyrus showed a strong reduction in photosynthetic area with increased nutrients. H. nymphoides and C. papyrus also accumulated more biomass than their native relatives. H. nymphoides possesses both of the traits we found to be associated with invasiveness, and should thus be regarded as likely to be invasive.     

The effects of nitrogen addition on the growth of two exotic and two native forest understory plants

Many studies have linked the spread of exotic, invasive species to high nitrogen supply, but most of this work does not distinguish between various inorganic forms and different concentrations of available nitrogen. Previous research has suggested that exotic, invasive species common in eastern deciduous forests may preferentially utilize nitrate in contrast to native species that preferentially make use of ammonium. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the growth response of two common forest invaders, Berberis thunbergii and Microstegium vimineum, and two co-occurring native species (Vaccinium pallidum and Hamamelis virginiana) to different forms of nitrogen under varying concentrations in a greenhouse experiment. Two forms of nitrogen (nitrate or ammonium) were added at different concentrations (22, 106, and 212 mg N l⁻¹) to all species. Growth response variables included survival, stem length, stem diameter, above and belowground biomass, and estimated seed production (Microstegium only). Unexpectedly the exotic species did not respond preferentially to nitrate addition. Microstegium responded most strongly to both nitrogen forms depending on the response variable. Berberis and Hamamelis surprisingly reacted similarly to nitrogen additions. As expected, Vaccinium fared poorly under most treatment conditions, but did show some growth in NH₄ ⁺ treatments. Our findings suggest species response to nitrogen addition is complex, and that exotic species do not all respond similarly to nitrogen inputs. In this study, the response of exotic and native species to available nutrients does not provide a general mechanism of invasion success.     

Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus availability on the decomposition of aquatic plants

The responses of decomposition to nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) supply were investigated in three leaf species: Eichhornia crassipes, Vallisneria natans, and Potamogeton maackianus. Decomposition was fastest in E. crassipes (0.047–0.099 day⁻¹), intermediate in V. natans (about 0.030 day⁻¹), and slowest in P. maackianus (about 0.010 day⁻¹). Increase in P-availability increased the decomposition rate of E. crassipes by 68–87%, whereas the impact of N-availability alone was insignificant. Both N- and P-availability in waters had no significant impact on the decomposition rates of V. natans and P. maackianus (P > 0.05). The effects of P-availability on the N and P content levels of the three species were significant (P < 0.01), except for the impact on N content of V. natans (P = 0.526). In contrast, environment N-availability was insignificant. These results indicate that the responses of decomposition to nutrient availability depend on plant species and nutrient type. P-availability has stronger effects on litter nutrient dynamics than N-availability.     

Foliar herbivory and its effects on plant growth in native and exotic species in the Patagonian steppe

Studies of herbivory and its consequences on the growth of native and exotic plants could help elucidate some processes involved in plant invasions. Introduced species are likely to experience reduced herbivory in their new range due to the absence of specialist enemies and, thus, may have higher benefits if they reduce the investment in resistance and increase their compensatory capacity. In order to evaluate the role of herbivory in disturbed areas within the Patagonian steppe, we quantified and compared the leaf levels of herbivory of four native and five exotic species and recorded the associated insect fauna. We also performed greenhouse experiments in which we simulated herbivory in order to evaluate the compensatory capacity of native and exotic species under different herbivory levels that resembled naturally occurring damage. Natural herbivory levels in the field were similar between the studied exotic and native plants. Field observations confirmed that they both shared some herbivore insects, most of which are generalists. In the greenhouse experiments, both exotic and native plants fully compensated for herbivory. Our results suggest that the studied exotic plants are not released from herbivory in the Patagonian steppe but are able to fully compensate for it. The capacity to recover from herbivory coupled with other potential adaptations, such as a better performance under disturbance and greater competitive ability than that of the native species, may represent some of the mechanisms responsible for the success of plant invasion in the Patagonian steppe.     

A snail prefers native over exotic freshwater plants: implications for the enemy release hypotheses

1. One of the most popular single‐factor hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the naturalization and spread of introduced species is the enemy release hypothesis (ERH). Most studies have considered how specialist consumers might affect the success of exotics, but the importance of generalist herbivores has received little attention 2. In this study, we compared the palatability of native and exotic freshwater plants in both phylogenetic pairings and in region‐wide assays, using a generalist consumer (the pond snail Radix swinhoei). 3. Our study indicated that, when plants were paired by taxonomic relatedness, the snail preferred native over exotic freshwater plants by a 2 : 1 ratio. The snail also preferred native over exotic plants when tested across 20 native and seven exotic species found growing in Liangzi Lake. 4. Snails consumed more biomass of native than exotic plants, providing support for the ERH and suggesting that exotic species have a potential advantage in most lakes of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China, thus helping their invasion.     

Survival and growth of native and exotic composites in response to a nutrient gradient

Mortality and performance (total biomass) of five exotic (weedy) and five native annual Asteraceae in Western Australia were compared along a mineral nutrient gradient. Mortality did not differ between exotic and native species but varied greatly within each group. The exotic species responded more positively to higher nutrient additions than the native species, indicating that the exotics might have a competitive advantage in a nutrient-enhanced situation (e.g., after fire). The concept of phenotypic inertia (PI), combining survival and performance over a range of environments, is introduced as a means of evaluating the range of growing conditions tolerated. The two species with highest PI (one exotic and one native) had the lowest mortality and uniformly moderate biomass for the nine nutrient treatments. The species with the lowest PI (a native) had complete failure at the two highest nutrient levels and low variable growth in the remainder. PI has potential as a measure of environmental tolerance although, in the present study, the exotic species were not clearly superior to the native species in their responses to a wide range of soil nutrient levels.     

Grazing by a native and an exotic crayfish on aquatic macrophytes

1. We compared grazing by native noble crayfish ( Astacus astacus ) and the exotic signal crayfish ( Pacifastacus leniusculus ) on seedling or well-established macrophytes.
2. In a pool experiment, seedlings of emergent Scirpus lacustris and floating-leaved Potamogeton natans were heavily grazed by adult signal crayfish, whereas established plants of the same species sustained only minor damage.
3. In a preference experiment two submerged macrophytes ( Chara vulgaris and Elodea canadensis ), and both seedlings and established plants of S. lacustris and P. natans , were presented pairwise to signal and noble crayfish. There was no significant difference in preference by the two crayfish species. Chara vulgaris was preferred to all other plants presented, established plants of S. lacustris and P. natans were never preferred, and seedlings of P. natans were preferred to established P. natans .
4. An aquarium experiment was conducted in which the consumption of Chara by signal and noble crayfish was measured in relation to water temperature. Signal crayfish consumed significantly more Chara than noble crayfish, especially at higher temperatures.
5. Our results indicate that the signal crayfish is the more voracious grazer especially at higher temperatures. There may be negative effects on vegetation (emergents and floating-leaved, as well as submerged species) when the signal crayfish is introduced. Chara species are particularly susceptible, since they are preferred by crayfish and the genus includes a large number of rare species. Stocking of crayfish therefore could lead to the decline or removal of submerged species in order of crayfish feeding preferences and could prevent the spread or cause a decline of emergent and floating-leaved vegetation.     

Grazing by a native and an exotic crayfish on aquatic macrophytes

1. We compared grazing by native noble crayfish ( Astacus astacus ) and the exotic signal crayfish ( Pacifastacus leniusculus ) on seedling or well-established macrophytes.
2. In a pool experiment, seedlings of emergent Scirpus lacustris and floating-leaved Potamogeton natans were heavily grazed by adult signal crayfish, whereas established plants of the same species sustained only minor damage.
3. In a preference experiment two submerged macrophytes ( Chara vulgaris and Elodea canadensis ), and both seedlings and established plants of S. lacustris and P. natans , were presented pairwise to signal and noble crayfish. There was no significant difference in preference by the two crayfish species. Chara vulgaris was preferred to all other plants presented, established plants of S. lacustris and P. natans were never preferred, and seedlings of P. natans were preferred to established P. natans .
4. An aquarium experiment was conducted in which the consumption of Chara by signal and noble crayfish was measured in relation to water temperature. Signal crayfish consumed significantly more Chara than noble crayfish, especially at higher temperatures.
5. Our results indicate that the signal crayfish is the more voracious grazer especially at higher temperatures. There may be negative effects on vegetation (emergents and floating-leaved, as well as submerged species) when the signal crayfish is introduced. Chara species are particularly susceptible, since they are preferred by crayfish and the genus includes a large number of rare species. Stocking of crayfish therefore could lead to the decline or removal of submerged species in order of crayfish feeding preferences and could prevent the spread or cause a decline of emergent and floating-leaved vegetation.     

Foraging interactions between native and exotic bumblebees: enclosure experiments using native flowering plants

To assess the impact of Bombus terrestris invasion on the foraging efficiency of native Japanese bumblebees, consumption and acquisition of floral resources during foraging on flowers of native Japanese plant species were investigated using enclosures with three treatments: one with only B. terrestris (exotic), one with both B. terrestris and native Japanese bumblebee species (mixed), and one with only Japanese species (native), but with the bumblebee density held constant. Changes in the body mass of queens and the nest mass of colonies for two days did not significantly differ among four combinations of the species and treatment, B. terrestris in the exotic and mixed treatments and Japanese species in the mixed and native treatments. Thus, it is not clear that B. terrestris has higher foraging efficiency than native species and that B. terrestris individuals more negatively affect the foraging efficiency of native species than individuals of the native species themselves. The nectar standing crop of Cirsium kamtschaticum was smaller in the exotic treatment than in the mixed and native treatments. However, this may have been an artifact of differences in the numbers of flowers in the various treatments. T. Nagamitsu and T. Kenta contributed equally to this work     

Snail herbivory on submerged macrophytes and nutrient release: Implications for macrophyte management

Radix swinhoei (H. Adams) is a freshwater snail commonly found in shallow regions of Lake Taihu. This research estimated, based on experiments, the consumption rates of R. swinhoei on three young submerged plants (Vallisneria spiralis, Hydrilla verticillata and Potamogeton malaianus) and its rates of nutrient release. Results showed that the snails consumed V. spiralis at the highest rate (23.34 mg g⁻¹ d⁻¹), P. malaianus at a lower rate (11.97 mg g⁻¹ d⁻¹), and H. verticillata at the lowest rate (7.04 mg g⁻¹ d⁻¹). The consumption rates on V. spiralis varied significantly, with snail size, ranging from 13.63 mg g⁻¹ d⁻¹ for large-size snails to 143.42 mg g⁻¹ d⁻¹ for small-size ones.The average nutrient release rates of snails grazing on different macrophytes were 45.93 μg PO₄-P and 0.58 mg NH₄-N g⁻¹ d⁻¹. The food species had a significant effect on NH₄-N release rates but not on PO₄-P. However, the snail size had a significant effect on PO₄-P release rates and not on NH₄-N. The present study indicates that through selective grazing and nutrient release, snails may impose a significant impact on the macrophyte community, which should be considered in managing the macrophytes of a lake.     

High nitrogen : phosphorus ratios reduce nutrient retention and second-year growth of wetland sedges

Shifts from nitrogen (N)- to phosphorus (P)-limited growth due to high N deposition may alter the functioning of wetland vegetation. This experiment tested how N vs P deficiency affects the growth and nutrient use of wetland sedges. Five wetland Carex species were grown at nine N : P supply ratios (0.6-405) with two absolute levels of N and P. Biomass and nutrient concentrations were determined after one and two growing seasons. Shoot biomass was maximal at N : P supply ratios of 15-26 after one season but 5-15 after two seasons. Photosynthesis after the first season, second-year growth, leaf longevity, and the fraction of nutrient supply retained by plants over two seasons were all negatively related to N : P supply ratios, with small effects of absolute supply. The five Carex species responded similarly to N : P ratios but differed in nutrient resorption efficiency and biomass allocation. Plants treated with high N : P ratios appeared to lose nutrients below ground. Such losses may reduce plant performance in P-limited wetlands affected by high N deposition.     

Novel plant-soil feedbacks drive adaption of invasive plants to soil legacies of native plants under nitrogen deposition

Plant and Soil - Soil legacies mediate interactions between native and introduced plants, contributing to both invasion and biotic resistance to invasion. Given that nitrogen deposition can promote...