Biological Invasions (2016) 18, 2159-2174

Jesús M. Castillo, Brenda J. Grewell, Andrea J. Pickart, Enrique Figueroa and Mark Sytsma (2016)
Variation in tussock architecture of the invasive cordgrass Spartina densiflora along the Pacific Coast of North America
Biological Invasions 18 (8), 2159-2174
Abstract: Some introduced species spread rapidly beyond their native range and into novel habitats mediated by a high degree of phenotypic plasticity and/or rapid evolutionary responses. In this context, clonality has been described as a significant factor contributing to invasiveness. We studied the abiotic environment and the responses of different tussock architecture traits of the invasive cordgrass Spartina densiflora Brongn. (Poaceae). A common garden experiment and field studies of S. densiflora in salt marshes across a wide latitudinal gradient from California (USA) to British Columbia (Canada) provided a model system for an integrated study of the potential mechanisms underlying the response of invasive S. densiflora populations to changes in environmental conditions. Our results showed that S. densiflora is able to adjust to widely variable climate (specifically, air temperature and the duration of the growing season) and sediment conditions (specifically, texture and hypoxia) through phenotypical plastic key functional tussock traits (e.g. shoot density, height, above- and below-ground biomass allocation patterns). Root biomass increased in coarser sediments in contrast to rhizomes, which were more abundant in finer sediments. Above-ground biomass and leaf area index increased mainly with air temperature during summer, and more robust (taller and wider) shoots were associated with more oxygenated sediments. In view of our results, S. densiflora appears to be a halophyte with a high degree of phenotypic plasticity that would enable it to respond successfully to changes in the abiotic conditions of salt marshes driven by global climate change, such as increasing salinity and temperatures.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Jesus M. Castillo

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Sporobolus montevidensis (weed)		U.S.A. (SW)
	Sporobolus montevidensis (weed)		U.S.A. (NW)
	Sporobolus montevidensis (weed)		Canada (west)