PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 20: Invasive Species
Wednesday, August 10, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Deja-vu communities: when invaders meet again.
June-Wells, Mark*,1, Northrup, Melanie1, Romayanantakit, Apiwat1, Holzapfel, Claus1, 1 Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, U.S.A.
ABSTRACT- Fallopia japonica and Microstegium vimineum are two sympatric NE Asian plant species that are non-native invaders in the Northeastern U.S. The former invaded the U.S. in the eighteen century and the later has become dominant much more recently. In some areas these two species now co-occur and very clear boundaries between populations of these two species appear to be typical, while overlap zones are typical when these species interact with other species. We are studying the interaction between these two species testing the possibility that coevolved community level interactions are involved when formerly sympatric species meet again in deja-vu communities. We investigated above-ground and below-ground community patterns of bordering stands of Fallopia and Microstegium in New Jersey. We tested root interactions in greenhouse experiments using interaction arenas where native and non-native co-occurring plants compete for below-ground space. Specific types of root interactions (e.g. avoidance, cooperation and overlap) among those species were tested in root observation chambers that allow monitoring of growth behavior of roots at contact. The results so far suggest that interactions between the old neighbors Fallopia and Microstegium differ in quantity and quality from interactions between Fallopia and the native Solidago canadensis and between Fallopia and the old European invader Artemisia vulgaris. The results have important implications for the assembly of new communities due to invasion of new, non-native species. It is still unclear to date, whether coevolved interactions among sympatric species are important in the shaping of communities. To answer these questions, invasion of non-native species into local communities provides the opportunity to conduct experiments that compare old and new communities.
Key words: invasion, communities, root interaction