Sources of Spatial Variation in Herbivory and Performance of an Invasive Non-native Plant, Common Burdock (Arctium minus)

• Main Author: Lee, Yoonsoo
• Other Authors: Kotanen, Peter M.
• Language: en_ca
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Herbivory; Invasive Species; Species Ranges; 0329; 0309
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/35636

The herbivory experienced by non-native invasive plants may depend on their local environments, such as herbivore abundance. In this study, I performed a common garden experiment with plants sampled from 11 populations of Arctium minus, from southern Ontario to near its northern range limit. I also compared performance and herbivory of burdock in open and understory habitats. Finally, I conducted freezing tolerance experiments with the lepidopteran seed predator Metzneria lapella, and palatability tests with plants from different populations. Results suggested that the previously described latitudinal trends in herbivore damage among populations are due to environmental differences rather than genotypic differences among populations. At a local scale, plants of open habitat were less damaged and had better performance than understory plants. Burdock has not escaped damage by herbivores in its invaded range; instead variation among sites in herbivore populations and impacts may significantly affect the invasiveness of this species.