Invasive species problem to grow
Climate change will accelerate the wipe out of native species
As the Earth's climate heats up, invasive species will hold the advantage over native plant species in spreading across the countryside, according to a new study.
Reed Canary grass seems benign in its native Europe, growing quietly and staying put in one place. But now in the United States, it is boisterously pushing other species out of its way on a growing frenzy.
Jane Molofsky is a professor of plant biology at the University of Vermont, and the strange inter-continental change in behaviour caught her attention. Her study suggests that invasive species like the grass have an inherent advantage to out-grow native species.
The grass has been brought to the United States from France, to Finland, and all the way out to the Czech Republic. As a result, the grass had a geographically diverse bank of genetic material to combine and form a new, super species of grass.
"It's not that you're taking the ones in France and moving them to the US and they're suddenly invasive," Molofsky said in a press release, "its that you move some plants, and then you move some from somewhere else and they recombine here to form something better, genetic superstars."
Farmers introduced the grass to the United States in the mid-19th century. They prized it for its ability to feed livestock and prevent erosion. But after years of interbreeding with other Reed Canary species, the grass is considered a weed in 10 states.
As the climate changes, more invasive species will likely take off in the same way, says Molofsky. The problem is that they have genetic programming that allows them to thrive in a multitude of environments, while genetically-meek native species only have experience in one.
The report appears in today's (Feb. 27) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences publication.
