Browsing by Author "Smith, Alyssa Laney"
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- Adaptation of an invasive grass to agriculture: ecological and genomic evidenceSmith, Alyssa Laney (Virginia Tech, 2017-06-06)Species vary phenotypically and genetically across their environmental range limits, and this variation can influence ecological processes. Ecologically meaningful intraspecific variation might be particularly important in the context of agricultural weeds and exotic invaders, because intraspecific variation in these species might allow them to rapidly adapt to their unusually dynamic and variable environments. In a greenhouse study, we explored intraspecific variation in the size, rhizome production, and competitive ability of the global invader, Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense), representing populations from agricultural and non-agricultural habitats across its introduced North American range. We also used these populations to explore the relationship between phenotypic variation and genomic endoreduplication responses to the common stresses herbicides, competition, and clipping. Endoreduplication occurs when plants increase their genome size by increasing their nuclear chromosome number, with some evidence showing correlations with stress response. We found that Johnsongrass plants from agricultural habitats were larger than plants from non-agricultural habitats, but there was no difference between habitats in either rhizome production or competitive ability. Two of the five herbicides we tested, primisulfuron and imazethapyr, had the strongest suppressive effects on Johnsongrass, and also stimulated the greatest rates of endoreduplication. Furthermore, agricultural populations showed higher levels of endoreduplication. We found no overall effect of competition on endoreduplication, although endoreduplication was higher for non-agricultural populations than agricultural populations. When competing with corn, but not with conspecifics, Johnsongrass roots increased endoreduplication by 13%. Clipping induced substantial endoreduplication, but there was no difference between agricultural and non-agricultural populations. Our results suggest that endoreduplication may play a role in some, but not all, stress responses in Johnsongrass. Furthermore, our results indicate that Johnsongrass has adapted in some phenotypic and genomic ways to agricultural habitats in North America. Such adaptation may play a role in this species' success as both an agricultural weed and an exotic invader.
- Negative plant-soil feedbacks increase with plant abundance, and are unchanged by competitionMaron, John L.; Smith, Alyssa Laney; Ortega, Yvette K.; Pearson, Dean E.; Callaway, Ragan M. (2016-08)Plant-soil feedbacks and interspecific competition are ubiquitous interactions that strongly influence the performance of plants. Yet few studies have examined whether the strength of these interactions corresponds with the abundance of plant species in the field, or whether feedbacks and competition interact in ways that either ameliorate or exacerbate their effects in isolation. We sampled soil from two intermountain grassland communities where we also measured the relative abundance of plant species. In greenhouse experiments, we quantified the direction and magnitude of plant-soil feedbacks for 10 target species that spanned a range of abundances in the field. In soil from both sites, plant-soil feedbacks were mostly negative, with more abundant species suffering greater negative feedbacks than rare species. In contrast, the average response to competition for each species was unrelated with its abundance in the field. We also determined how competitive response varied among our target species when plants competed in live vs. sterile soil. Interspecific competition reduced plant size, but the strength of this negative effect was unchanged by plant-soil feedbacks. Finally, when plants competed interspecifically, we asked how conspecific-trained, heterospecific-trained, and sterile soil influenced the competitive responses of our target species and how this varied depending on whether target species were abundant or rare in the field. Here, we found that both abundant and rare species were not as harmed by competition when they grew in heterospecific-trained soil compared to when they grew in conspecific-cultured soil. Abundant species were also not as harmed by competition when growing in sterile vs. conspecific-trained soil, but this was not the case for rare species. Our results suggest that abundant plants accrue species-specific soil pathogens to a greater extent than rare species. Thus, negative feedbacks may be critical for preventing abundant species from becoming even more abundant than rare species.