da Costa Letícia, Vieira Luíz Alberto, Michelan Thaísa Sala, Vale Alvaro Herrera, Chiba de Castro Wagner Antonio
Neotropical Biodiversity Graduate Program, Federal University of Latin American Integration, Foz do Iguaçu 85866-000, PR, Brazil.
Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil.
Plants (Basel). 2024 Dec 15;13(24):3500. doi: 10.3390/plants13243500.
Communities with high native species diversity tend to be less susceptible to the establishment of invasive species, especially in studies that test their local impact. This study investigated the impact of competition between native submerged aquatic macrophytes (SAMs) ( and ) and the exotic , recognized for its invasive potential in aquatic ecosystems, through a mesocosm experiment conducted over six months. Two treatments were evaluated: the intraspecific competition of and an interspecific competition involving all three species. The plants were cultivated under controlled conditions, with the foliar and subterranean biomass being monitored to analyze resource allocation patterns. The results showed that, under interspecific competition, the mean foliar biomass of was significantly higher compared to the intraspecific treatment, while the subterranean biomass was reduced in the presence of native species. We conclude that native species alter the biomass allocation pattern of the invader, favoring foliar structures over subterranean ones. Among the mechanisms of invasiveness, differential resource allocation represents an important strategy for the adaptation and competitiveness of invasive species influenced by environmental factors and resource competition. These findings contribute to the understanding of competitive interactions in aquatic ecosystems and have implications for the management and control of invasive species, highlighting the importance of promoting native diversity to mitigate invasibility. Future studies should investigate the impacts of reduced subterranean structures on the persistence and spread of submerged invasive species.
本地物种多样性高的群落往往较不易受到入侵物种的侵袭，尤其是在测试其局部影响的研究中。本研究通过一项为期六个月的中宇宙实验，调查了本地沉水水生植物（SAMs）之间的竞争以及被认为在水生生态系统中具有入侵潜力的外来物种之间的竞争影响。评估了两种处理方式：一种是 的种内竞争，另一种是涉及所有三个物种的种间竞争。植物在受控条件下培养，监测其地上和地下生物量以分析资源分配模式。结果表明，在种间竞争下，与种内处理相比， 的平均地上生物量显著更高，而在本地物种存在的情况下地下生物量减少。我们得出结论，本地物种改变了入侵者的生物量分配模式，有利于地上结构而非地下结构。在入侵机制中，差异资源分配是受环境因素和资源竞争影响的入侵物种适应和竞争力的重要策略。这些发现有助于理解水生生态系统中的竞争相互作用，并对入侵物种的管理和控制具有启示意义，突出了促进本地多样性以减轻可入侵性的重要性。未来的研究应调查地下结构减少对沉水入侵物种的持久性和扩散的影响。
