The Meuse river as a corridor for range expansion of the exotic plant species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sisymbrium austriacum</Emphasis>: evidence for long-distance seed dispersal |
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Authors: | Hans Jacquemyn Kris Van Looy Peter Breyne Olivier Honnay |
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Institution: | (1) Division Plant Ecology and Systematics, University of Leuven, Arenbergpark 31, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium;(2) Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Kliniekstraat 25, 1070 Brussels, Belgium |
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Abstract: | Riparian habitats are particularly prone to invasion of non-indigenous plant species and several species have been shown to
rapidly expand their range along river networks, possibly mediated by the occurrence of frequent long-distance seed dispersal
events. However, there is still relatively little empirical evidence for long-distance seed dispersal along river networks
and most studies to date are inconclusive with regards to the direction (upstream vs. downstream) of seed movement. Using
assignment analyses based on dominant AFLP markers, we provide empirical evidence that downstream long-distance seed dispersal
has facilitated range expansion of the exotic plant Sisymbrium austriacum along the Meuse River. Of 242 sampled individuals, 13 (5.4%) were allocated to a population other than the one from which
it was sampled. Of these, nine (3.7%) individuals were assigned to a known population within the area, the furthest being
more than 20 km away from the population from which it was sampled. All putative source populations were located upstream,
thus providing strong evidence for downstream migration of propagules. These results support the general view that river systems
may serve as efficient transport vectors of plant species and thus may play an important role in increasing the spatial spread
and range expansion of exotic plant species. |
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