Invasive Buttonweed Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) Is Halotolerant and Has High Potential for Dispersal by Endozoochory

Buttonweed (Cotula coronopifolia) is native to South Africa but invasive in wetlands in Europe, North America, and Australasia, where it excludes native plants. Despite being dry-fruited, field studies suggest migratory waterbirds can disperse its seeds via gut passage (endozoochory), aiding its exp...

ver descrição completa

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Sánchez-García, Raúl, Green, Andy J., Tomasson, Lina, Hortas, Francisco, Ortiz, María A.
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Recursos:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/367014
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/367014
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Endozoochory
Dry-fruited seeds
Dispersal syndromes
Salinity
Gut passage
Non-indigenous species
id ES_7a77fd3914f2c9dedbe2b3dbaa5c94db
oai_identifier_str oai:digital.csic.es:10261/367014
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
spelling Invasive Buttonweed Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) Is Halotolerant and Has High Potential for Dispersal by Endozoochory Sánchez-García, Raúl Green, Andy J. Tomasson, Lina Hortas, Francisco Ortiz, María A. Endozoochory Dry-fruited seeds Dispersal syndromes Salinity Gut passage Non-indigenous species Buttonweed (Cotula coronopifolia) is native to South Africa but invasive in wetlands in Europe, North America, and Australasia, where it excludes native plants. Despite being dry-fruited, field studies suggest migratory waterbirds can disperse its seeds via gut passage (endozoochory), aiding its expansion. To explore the potential for endozoochory in different regions and habitats, we collected seeds from six populations in Spain, Sweden, and the UK. Germination was tested under different salinity levels (0, 5, 10, 15 g/L) and simulated gut passage treatments: scarification, acidification, or both. No germination occurred at 15 g/L. Higher salinity reduced and delayed germination, but full gut passage treatment (i.e., both scarification and acidification) increased germinability and accelerated germination. Scarification or acid treatment alone resulted in intermediate germination patterns. There were significant salinity × population and gut passage × population interactions on germinability. The acceleration effect of gut passage on germination was stronger at 5–10 g/L than at 0 g/L. This study highlights how migratory birds can facilitate the spread of alien plants introduced by humans. Endozoochory by waterbirds is an understudied mechanism for the long-distance dispersal of dry-fruited alien plants. Further research on C. coronopifolia, including population genetics, is necessary to understand dispersal mechanisms and facilitate management strategies. This research was funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, project number PID2020–112774GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, and RSG was funded by an FPI grant from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (PRE2021-099466). Peer reviewed Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute http://hdl.handle.net/10261/367014
title Invasive Buttonweed Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) Is Halotolerant and Has High Potential for Dispersal by Endozoochory
spellingShingle Invasive Buttonweed Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) Is Halotolerant and Has High Potential for Dispersal by Endozoochory
Sánchez-García, Raúl
Endozoochory
Dry-fruited seeds
Dispersal syndromes
Salinity
Gut passage
Non-indigenous species
title_short Invasive Buttonweed Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) Is Halotolerant and Has High Potential for Dispersal by Endozoochory
title_full Invasive Buttonweed Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) Is Halotolerant and Has High Potential for Dispersal by Endozoochory
title_fullStr Invasive Buttonweed Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) Is Halotolerant and Has High Potential for Dispersal by Endozoochory
title_full_unstemmed Invasive Buttonweed Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) Is Halotolerant and Has High Potential for Dispersal by Endozoochory
title_sort Invasive Buttonweed Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) Is Halotolerant and Has High Potential for Dispersal by Endozoochory
author Sánchez-García, Raúl
author_facet Sánchez-García, Raúl
Green, Andy J.
Tomasson, Lina
Hortas, Francisco
Ortiz, María A.
author_role author
author2 Green, Andy J.
Tomasson, Lina
Hortas, Francisco
Ortiz, María A.
author2_role author
author
author
author
topic Endozoochory
Dry-fruited seeds
Dispersal syndromes
Salinity
Gut passage
Non-indigenous species
topic_facet Endozoochory
Dry-fruited seeds
Dispersal syndromes
Salinity
Gut passage
Non-indigenous species
description Buttonweed (Cotula coronopifolia) is native to South Africa but invasive in wetlands in Europe, North America, and Australasia, where it excludes native plants. Despite being dry-fruited, field studies suggest migratory waterbirds can disperse its seeds via gut passage (endozoochory), aiding its expansion. To explore the potential for endozoochory in different regions and habitats, we collected seeds from six populations in Spain, Sweden, and the UK. Germination was tested under different salinity levels (0, 5, 10, 15 g/L) and simulated gut passage treatments: scarification, acidification, or both. No germination occurred at 15 g/L. Higher salinity reduced and delayed germination, but full gut passage treatment (i.e., both scarification and acidification) increased germinability and accelerated germination. Scarification or acid treatment alone resulted in intermediate germination patterns. There were significant salinity × population and gut passage × population interactions on germinability. The acceleration effect of gut passage on germination was stronger at 5–10 g/L than at 0 g/L. This study highlights how migratory birds can facilitate the spread of alien plants introduced by humans. Endozoochory by waterbirds is an understudied mechanism for the long-distance dispersal of dry-fruited alien plants. Further research on C. coronopifolia, including population genetics, is necessary to understand dispersal mechanisms and facilitate management strategies.
publishDate 2024
format article
status_str publishedVersion
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/367014
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
publisher Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
institution Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
_version_ 1878436764356444160
publishDateSort 2024
author_browse Green, Andy J.
Hortas, Francisco
Ortiz, María A.
Sánchez-García, Raúl
Tomasson, Lina
publisherStr Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
score 6.924472

Registos relacionados