Journal article
Do Hybrid Trees Inherit Invasive Characteristics? Fruits of Corymbia torelliana X C. citriodora Hybrids and Potential for Seed Dispersal by Bees
PLoS One, Vol.10(9), pp.1-15
2015
PMCID: PMC4587733
PMID: 26418155
Appears in UniSC Supported Open Access Outputs
Abstract
Tree invasions have substantial impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and trees that are dispersed by animals are more likely to become invasive. In addition, hybridisation between plants is well documented as a source of new weeds, as hybrids gain new characteristics that allow them to become invasive. Corymbia torelliana is an invasive tree with an unusual animal dispersal mechanism: seed dispersal by stingless bees, that hybridizes readily with other species. We examined hybrids between C. torelliana and C. citriodora subsp. citriodora to determine whether hybrids have inherited the seed dispersal characteristics of C. torelliana that allow bee dispersal. Some hybrid fruits displayed the characteristic hollowness, resin production and resin chemistry associated with seed dispersal by bees. However, we did not observe bees foraging on any hybrid fruits until they had been damaged. We conclude that C. torelliana and C. citriodora subsp. citriodora hybrids can inherit some fruit characters that are associated with dispersal by bees, but we did not find a hybrid with the complete set of characters that would enable bee dispersal. However, around 20,000 hybrids have been planted in Australia, and ongoing monitoring is necessary to identify any hybrids that may become invasive
Details
- Title
- Do Hybrid Trees Inherit Invasive Characteristics? Fruits of Corymbia torelliana X C. citriodora Hybrids and Potential for Seed Dispersal by Bees
- Authors
- Helen M Wallace (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringSara Leonhardt (Author) - University of Wurzburg, Germany
- Publication details
- PLoS One, Vol.10(9), pp.1-15
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science
- Date published
- 2015
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0138868
- ISSN
- 1932-6203
- PMID
- 26418155; PMC4587733
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2015 Wallace, Leonhardt. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
- Data Availability
- All data files used for; figures and tables are available from http://dx.doi.org/; 10.4227/39/55b994aa01438.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; GeneCology Research Centre - Legacy
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99449180202621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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