Botanical seminar: Does local adaptation facilitate the success of plant invasions? – A case study on Buddleja davidii

Susan Ebeling, Halle University

Invasive species offer the opportunity to study evolutionary responses to a new environment in a contemporary time frame. Adaptation to their habitats is apparently a common feature of many plant species and moreover, adaptive evolution in response to novel environments is considered to play a major role also in successful plant invasions. This will focus on the study species Buddleja davidii, an shrub which is invasive in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North America. The species is native to China and was introduced to Europe and the other regions for ornamental reasons. While many studies have tested the predictions of several hypotheses, e.g. enemy release hypothesis or EICA, very few have investigated the underlying assumption of different performance in the field. Thus, the first part of the talk will outline differences in the population performance between the invasive and native range. Second, it will demonstrate results of a study investigating genetic differentiation and local adaptation among invasive populations of B. davidii.

Dept Agriculture and Ecology, KU-LIFE, December 5, 2008, at 14:15-15:00, Meeting Room, Rolighedsvej 21, Frederiksberg.