Fusarium solani invader of the eggs of the insectPanstrongylus geniculatus in a vivarium

A strain ofFusarium solani sensu Snyder & Hansen invaded the eggs of the insectPanstrongylus geniculatus in a vivarium. None of the invaded eggs hatched. To establish experimentally the pathogenicity of thisFusarium species against the eggs ofP. geniculatus, the fungus and the eggs were incubated together under different relative humidities and temperatures. At 64% relative humidity and 26 °C, the fungus grew well colonizing and penetrating all of the chorions.Three embryos died and were also colonized byF. solani. Only 4 nymphs hatched and survived to day 20. It is concluded that the isolate ofF. solani was capable of colonizing and invading the chorion of the eggs under certain humidity and temperature conditions and cause the death of the embryos.     

土著入侵种黄帚橐吾的替代防控展望

黄帚橐吾是青藏高原高寒草场中分布最广、危害极大的优势毒草,严重影响了该地区群落结构和草地畜牧业的发展。在介绍土著入侵种和替代防控概念及相关研究进展的基础上,针对黄帚橐吾目前缺乏高效经济生态防控措施的现状,结合国内外对入侵植物进行替代防控的经验与原则,提出了对黄帚橐吾进行替代防控的生态防控设想和黄帚橐吾替代植物选用的基本原则,初步划定了防控黄帚橐吾的替代植物范围。通过引种或者驯化乡土草种,在青藏高原培育禾本科、豆科植物或者建植禾豆混播人工草地,使其具备替代防控黄帚橐吾的潜力。     

Strand-invading linear probe combined with unmodified PNA

Efficient strand invasion by a linear probe to fluorescently label double-stranded DNA has been implemented by employing a probe and unmodified PNA. As a fluorophore, we utilized ethynylperylene. Multiple ethynylperylene residues were incorporated into the DNA probe via a d-threoninol scaffold. The ethynylperylene did not significantly disrupt hybridization with complementary DNA. The linear probe self-quenched in the absence of target DNA and did not hybridize with PNA. A gel-shift assay revealed that linear probe and PNA combination invaded the central region of double-stranded DNA upon heat-shock treatment to form a double duplex. To further suppress the background emission and increase the stability of the probe/DNA duplex, a probe containing anthraquinones as well as ethynylperylene was synthesized. This probe and PNA invader pair detected an internal sequence in a double-stranded DNA with high sensitivity when heat shock treatment was used. The probe and PNA pair was able to invade at the terminus of a long double-stranded DNA at 40 °C at 100 mM NaCl concentration.     

Potential local adaptation in populations of invasive reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) across an urbanization gradient

Urban stressors represent strong selective gradients that can elicit evolutionary change, especially in non‐native species that may harbor substantial within‐population variability. To test whether urban stressors drive phenotypic differentiation and influence local adaptation, we compared stress responses of populations of a ubiquitous invader, reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea). Specifically, we quantified responses to salt, copper, and zinc additions by reed canary grass collected from four populations spanning an urbanization gradient (natural, rural, moderate urban, and intense urban). We measured ten phenotypic traits and trait plasticities, because reed canary grass is known to be highly plastic and because plasticity may enhance invasion success. We tested the following hypotheses: (a) Source populations vary systematically in their stress response, with the intense urban population least sensitive and the natural population most sensitive, and (b) plastic responses are adaptive under stressful conditions. We found clear trait variation among populations, with the greatest divergence in traits and trait plasticities between the natural and intense urban populations. The intense urban population showed stress tolerator characteristics for resource acquisition traits including leaf dry matter content and specific root length. Trait plasticity varied among populations for over half the traits measured, highlighting that plasticity differences were as common as trait differences. Plasticity in root mass ratio and specific root length were adaptive in some contexts, suggesting that natural selection by anthropogenic stressors may have contributed to root trait differences. Reed canary grass populations in highly urbanized wetlands may therefore be evolving enhanced tolerance to urban stressors, suggesting a mechanism by which invasive species may proliferate across urban wetland systems generally.     

Temporal change in the diversity-invasibility relationship in the presence of a disturbance regime

Disturbance can affect both the diversity and invasibility of communities. Many field studies have found correlations between diversity and susceptibility to invasion, but if both factors independently respond to disturbance then spurious non-causal relationships may be observed. Here, we show that disturbance can cause a temporal shift in the diversity-invasibility relationship. In a field experiment using sessile marine communities, disturbance strongly affected both diversity and invasion such that they were highly correlated. Disturbance facilitated initial invasion, creating a negative diversity-invasibility relationship when the invader first arrived. Over time, disturbance hindered the persistence of invaders, creating a positive diversity-invasibility relationship. We suggest that temporal changes in the diversity-invasibility relationship may have contributed to the 'invasion paradox', a term for the contrasting patterns of experimental and observational studies of the diversity-invasibility relationship.     

Multi-species evolutionary dynamics

Dynamical attainability of an evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) through the process of mutations and natural selection has mostly been addressed through the use of the continuously stable strategy (CSS) concept for species evolutionary games in which strategies are drawn from a continuum, and by the adaptive trait dynamics method. We address the issue of dynamical attainability of an ESS in coevolving species through the use of the concept of an ESNIS. It is shown that the definition of an ESNIS coalition for coevolving species is not in general equivalent to other definitions for CSS given in the literature. We show under some additional conditions that, in a dynamic system which involves the strategies of a dimorphic ESNIS coalition and at most two strategies that are not members of ESNIS coalition, the ESNIS coalition will emerge as the winner. In addition an ESNIS will be approached because of the invasion structure of strategies in its neighborhood. This proves that under the above conditions an ESNIS has a better chance of being attained than a strategy coalition which is a CSS. The theory developed is applied to a class of coevolutionary game models with Lotka–Volterra type interactions and we show that for such models, an ESS coalition will be dynamically attainable through mutations and natural selection if the ESS coalition is also an ESNIS coalition.Co-ordinating editor: Metz     

Invasive plant integration into native plant–pollinator networks across Europe

The structure of plant–pollinator networks has been claimed to be resilient to changes in species composition due to the weak degree of dependence among mutualistic partners. However, detailed empirical investigations of the consequences of introducing an alien plant species into mutualistic networks are lacking. We present the first cross-European analysis by using a standardized protocol to assess the degree to which a particular alien plant species (i.e. Carpobrotus affine acinaciformis, Impatiens glandulifera, Opuntia stricta, Rhododendron ponticum and Solanum elaeagnifolium) becomes integrated into existing native plant–pollinator networks, and how this translates to changes in network structure.Alien species were visited by almost half of the pollinator species present, accounting on average for 42 per cent of the visits and 24 per cent of the network interactions. Furthermore, in general, pollinators depended upon alien plants more than on native plants. However, despite the fact that invaded communities received more visits than uninvaded communities, the dominant role of alien species over natives did not translate into overall changes in network connectance, plant linkage level and nestedness. Our results imply that although supergeneralist alien plants can play a central role in the networks, the structure of the networks appears to be very permeable and robust to the introduction of invasive alien species into the network.     

Native seed addition as an effective tool for post-invasion restoration

Invasive plant species reduce biodiversity, alter ecosystem processes, and cause economic losses. Control of invasive plants is therefore highly desired by land managers and policy makers. However, invasive plant control strategies frequently fail, partly because management often concentrates only on the eradication of invasive plants and not on revegetation with native species that use the available resources and prevent reinvasion. In this study, we focused on the intracontinental invader Rumex alpinus L., which was introduced by humans from the Alps to the lower mountains of Central Europe, where it has spread to semi-natural meadows, suppresses local biodiversity, and reduces the quality of hay used as cattle fodder. The species can be effectively removed using herbicide, but this leaves behind a persistent seed bank. Without further treatment, the invader rapidly regenerates and reinvades the area. We supplemented the herbicide treatment by adding the seeds of native grasses. Addition of native-seed effectively suppressed the regeneration of the invader from the seed bank, reduced its biomass, and consequently, prevented massive reinvasion. While the invader removal was successful, the restored community remained species-poor because the dense sward of native grasses blocked the regeneration of native forbs from the seed bank. Nevertheless, the addition of native seed proved to be an effective tool in preventing reinvasion after the eradication of the invasive plant.