Abstract Detail

Ecology

Weaver, William [1], Persinger, Jessica [2], Nathaniel, Pinson [2], Ng, Julienne [3], Laport, Robert [4].

Testing Darwin’s Naturalization Hypothesis: Phylogenetic Relatedness Among Native and Non-Native Plant Species.

Darwin’s Naturalization Hypothesis states that non-native species which are more related to native species are less likely to thrive in the same community. However, several studies have presented evidence suggesting that the opposite is true: introduced species which are more related to native species are more likely to be thrive in native communities. The purpose of this project is to better resolve Darwin's Naturalization Hypothesis by examining numerous communities across the United States at a broader taxonomic scope than is typically analyzed. We used phylogenetic analyses of native and non-native plants surveyed from eight separate by the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) to address two questions: (1) Are non-native species more closely related to native species in each NEON plot? (2) Do more species rich communities have fewer non-native species? We found that at each plot, non-native species were as genetically similar to native species as would be expected by chance, although there was a trend that non-native species were more genetically similar to native species. In addition, there was a negative correlation between the percent of introduced species that occurred at each plot and the overall species richness at each plot.

1 - University of Colorado at Boulder, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 334 Ucb, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
2 - University of Colorado at Boulder, 334 Ucb, Boulder, CO, 80309, United States
3 - University of Colorado Boulder, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Campus Box 334, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
4 - University of Colorado-Boulder, Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Campus Box 334, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA

Keywords:
phylogenetics
Community assembly
phylogenetic community structure.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P, Ecology Section Posters
Location: Exhibit Hall/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 1st, 2016
Time: 5:30 PM This poster will be presented at 6:15 pm. The Poster Session runs from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Posters with odd poster numbers are presented at 5:30 pm, and posters with even poster numbers are presented at 6:15 pm.
Number: PEC030
Abstract ID:689
Candidate for Awards:None