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Increased adaptive phenotypic plasticity in the introduced range in alien weeds under drought and flooding

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Abstract

Phenotypic plasticity is an essential mechanism by which plants respond to changes in their environment, but our understanding of the evolution of plasticity is still limited. Comparing plasticity of introduced alien species across native and introduced provenances can indicate potential evolution of adaptive plasticity. We examined reaction norms across an experimental soil moisture gradient for native and introduced provenances of two Rumex spp. to ask whether plasticity was (a) adaptive or maladaptive, (b) greater in the more widespread R. obtusifolius, and (c) greater in the introduced range. We cloned genotypes from the United Kingdom (native range) and New Zealand (introduced range) and grew them under drought, mesic or flooded conditions. We measured biomass and functional traits to assess differences in, and fitness implications of, trait means and plasticity, where plasticity was quantified as the slope of the reaction norm. Plasticity to drought was often positively correlated with biomass and likely adaptive, while plasticity to flooding was sometimes negatively correlated with biomass and thus potentially maladaptive. Plasticity to drought was greater in R. obtusifolius than in the less widespread R. conglomeratus, as expected, although no difference was found under flooding. Compared to plants from the native range, introduced provenance R. obtusifolius had greater plasticity in chlorophyll content and water use efficiency under drought, both of which were positively correlated with biomass, suggesting that greater adaptive plasticity may have evolved in New Zealand. This capacity for adaptation could increase their range and exacerbate their impact in the future.

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Data availability

The data associated with this paper are archived at Figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14430470 (Bufford and Hulme 2021).

Code availability

Code will be provided upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This project was funded by the Tertiary Education Commission. We would like to thank Riku Rinnevalli, Negisa Darajeh, Samira Rizvi, Andrei Costan, and Thomas Carlin who helped harvest the plants. Thanks to Brent Richards, Leona Meachen and Dave Jack who provided greenhouse space and assistance and to Steven Stillwell who provided technical expertise. Andrei Costan and Thomas Carlin helped collect seeds, and we thank the following people and organizations who helped us locate seeds and gave permission for collection: Botanical Society of the British Isles, Scottish Natural Heritage and Historic Environment Scotland, Christchurch and Invercargill City Councils, Taane Johnsen & Colin Ferguson, numerous farm owners and managers around New Zealand.

Funding

This project was funded by the Tertiary Education Commission grant to the Bio-Protection Research Centre as a Centre of Research Excellence.

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  1. Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, PO Box 85084, Lincoln, 7647, New Zealand

    Jennifer L. Bufford & Philip E. Hulme

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  1. Jennifer L. Bufford
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JLB and PEH planned and designed the research. JLB conducted the experiment, processed and analysed the data. JLB and PEH wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jennifer L. Bufford.

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Bufford, J.L., Hulme, P.E. Increased adaptive phenotypic plasticity in the introduced range in alien weeds under drought and flooding. Biol Invasions 23, 2675–2688 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-021-02532-5

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