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Abstract Detail


Ecological Section

Murphy, Jennifer [1], Bernhard, Lindsay [1], Loya, Maria [1], Glover, Rachael [1], Drenovsky, Rebecca [1].

Early life history traits in globally invasive and non-invasive Rosa congeners.

Biological invasions pose major threats to natural habitats by reducing biodiversity, habitat availability, and resource availability for native vegetation. The overall invasiveness of a species may be linked to its underlying functional traits, including phenological, morphological, and physiological characteristics. Identifying specific functional traits that allow some individuals to become better established than others has important implications for conservation and restoration efforts. Using a phylogenetic framework, the main objective of this study was to determine possible correlations between global invasiveness and early life-history traits in Rosa congeners. It was hypothesized that those species classified as highly invasive would display trait values consistent with higher probability of becoming established than those species classified as non-invasive (e.g. smaller seed size, higher germination rate). Data on early life history traits were collected for 14 congener Rosa sp. that vary in their degrees of global invasiveness. Without accounting for phylogeny, seed mass and seed length were not significantly different between groups. Correlation analyses demonstrated no significant relationships between seed mass and germination rate, survivorship, or days to germination (P>0.05 for all correlations). These results indicate that early life-history traits may not play a major role in the successful establishment and spread of highly invasive Rosa sp. Instead, the spread and fitness of these species may rely more on asexual propagation rather than sexual reproduction.

Broader Impacts:


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1 - John Carroll University, Biology, 20700 North Park Blvd, University Heights, OH, 44118, USA

Keywords:
invasion
seedling establishment
functional traits
phylogeny
seed traits.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Battelle South/Convention Center
Date: Monday, July 9th, 2012
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PEC001
Abstract ID:372


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