Climate mediates phenological and phylogenetic differentiation in plant invasions.
Ramirez-Parada TH, Park IW, Peng S, Nishino M, Kartesz JT
Invasive Species
Invasive plants showing up earlier each spring in your garden or local nature trail aren't just a nuisance — their arrival timing is now predictable based on where you live, giving restoration groups and gardeners a sharper tool for anticipating which invaders to watch for.
Scientists studied nearly 3,000 plant species across the U.S. and found that invasive plants don't all use the same playbook. In lush, warm climates, invaders tend to bloom earlier than the locals and belong to completely different plant families — they win by being different. In harsher, colder, or drier places, invaders look and behave much more like the native plants already there, blending in rather than standing out. One thing was true everywhere: invasive plants bloom for longer periods than natives, no matter the climate.
Key Findings
In warm, humid regions, invasive plants flowered earlier and less synchronously with natives, and were more distantly related to native species phylogenetically.
In cold or dry regions, invasive plants flowered at similar or later times to natives, more synchronously, and were more closely related to native species than natives were to each other.
Across all climate types, invasive plants consistently displayed longer flowering durations than natives, a universal trait regardless of region.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Invasive plants behave differently depending on the climate they're invading: in warm, humid areas they flower earlier and are distantly related to native plants, while in cold or dry regions they blend in closely with natives in both timing and family. Climate turns out to be a key predictor of how invasive plants succeed.
Abstract Preview
Darwin's Naturalization Conundrum holds that both functional similarity and distinctiveness can facilitate biological invasions: invaders similar to natives may succeed through preadaptation to loc...
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