Niche dynamics of alien species do not differ among sexual and apomictic flowering plants.
Biological invasions can be associated with shifts of the species' climatic niches but the incidence of such shifts is under debate. The reproductive system might be a key factor controlling such shifts because it influences a species' evolutionary flexibility. However, the link between reproductive systems and niche dynamics in plant invasions has been little studied so far. We compiled global occurrence data sets of 13 congeneric sexual and apomictic species pairs, and used principal components analysis (PCA) and kernel smoothers to compare changes in climatic niche optima, breadths and unfilling/expansion between native and alien ranges. Niche change metrics were compared between sexual and apomictic species. All 26 species showed changes in niche optima and/or breadth and 14 species significantly expanded their climatic niches. However, we found no effect of the reproductive system on niche dynamics. Instead, species with narrower native niches showed higher rates of niche expansion in the alien ranges. Our results suggest that niche shifts are frequent in plant invasions but evolutionary potential may not be of major importance for such shifts. Niche dynamics rather appear to be driven by changes of the realized niche without adaptive change of the fundamental climatic niche.
Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, Vienna, 1030, Austria.
Agnes S
AS
Dellinger
Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, Vienna, 1030, Austria.
Franz
F
Essl
Department of Systematics, Biodiversity and Evolution of Plants, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, Göttingen, 37073, Germany.
Diego
D
Hojsgaard
Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, Vienna, 1030, Austria.
Bernhard
B
Kirchheimer
Department of Systematics, Biodiversity and Evolution of Plants, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, Göttingen, 37073, Germany.
Simone
S
Klatt
Ecology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany.
Wayne
W
Dawson
Institute of Botany, Department of Invasion Ecology, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Průhonice, CZ-252 43, Czech Republic.
Jan
J
Pergl
Institute of Botany, Department of Invasion Ecology, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Průhonice, CZ-252 43, Czech Republic.|Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, CZ-128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
Petr
P
Pyšek
Ecology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany.
Mark
M
van Kleunen
Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Maulbeerallee 1, Potsdam, 14469, Germany.
Ewald
E
Weber
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany.
Marten
M
Winter
Department of Systematics, Biodiversity and Evolution of Plants, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, Göttingen, 37073, Germany.
Elvira
E
Hörandl
Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, Vienna, 1030, Austria.
Stefan
S
Dullinger
D060832:Apomixis / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D035264:Flowers / Q000502:physiology*; D058865:Introduced Species; D013045:Species Specificity
adaptation; asexual reproduction; niche shifts; plant invasion; reproductive system; species distribution modelling