Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T06:07:57.198Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparative Seed and Dispersal Ecology of Three Exotic Subtropical Asparagus Species

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Gabrielle E. Vivian-Smith  and
Carl R. Gosper
Gabrielle E. Vivian-Smith*
Affiliation:
CRC for Australian Weed Management and Biosecurity Queensland, Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, Alan Fletcher Research Station, P.O. Box 36, Sherwood, Queensland 4075, Australia
Carl R. Gosper
Affiliation:
CRC for Australian Weed Management and Biosecurity Queensland, Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, Alan Fletcher Research Station, P.O. Box 36, Sherwood, Queensland 4075, Australia
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The genus Asparagus includes at least six invasive species in Australia. Asparagus aethiopicus and A. africanus are invasive in subtropical Australia, and a third species, A. virgatus is naturalized and demonstrates localized spread in south east Queensland. To better understand how the attributes of these species contribute to their invasiveness, we compared fruit and seed traits, germination, seedling emergence, seed survival, and time-to-maturity. We further investigated dispersal ecology of A. africanus, examining the diet of a local frugivore, the figbird (Sphecotheres viridis) and the effect of gut passage on seedling emergence. Overall, A. aethiopicus was superior in germination and emergence, with the highest mean germination (98.8%) and emergence (94.5%) under optimal conditions and higher emergence (mean of 73.3%) across all treatments. In contrast, A. africanus had the lowest germination under optimal conditions (71.7%) and low mean seedling emergence (49.5%), but had fruits with the highest relative yield (ratio of dry pulp to fruit fresh weight) that were favored by a local frugivore. Figbirds consumed large numbers of A. africanus fruits (∼30% of all non-Ficus fruits), and seedling germination was not significantly affected by gut passage compared to unprocessed fruits. Asparagus virgatus germinated poorly under cool, light conditions (1.4%) despite a high optimum mean (95.0%) and had low mean performance across emergence treatments (36.3%). The species also had fruits with a low pulp return for frugivores. For all species, seed survival declined rapidly in the first 12 mo and fell to < 3.2% viability at 36 mo. On the basis of the traits considered, A. virgatus is unlikely to have the invasive potential of its congeners. Uniformly short seed survival times suggest that weed managers do not have to contend with a substantial persistent soil-stored seed bank, but frugivore-mediated dispersal beyond existing infestations will present a considerable management challenge.

Keywords

Basket asparagus, Asparagus aethiopicus L. [syn. Protasparagus aethiopicus (L.) Oberm., Asparagus lanceus Thunb., Asparagus sprengeri Regel, Asparagus densiflorus (Kunth) Jessop]climbing asparagus, Asparagus africanus Lam. [syn. Protasparagus africanus (Lam.) Oberm]Asparagus fern, Asparagus virgatus (Baker) Oberm.; figbird, Sphecotheres viridis ViellotCongenerexotic speciesseed dispersalfrugivorygerminationinvasive plantspecies traitsseed persistence
Type
Research
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , May 2010 , pp. 93 - 103
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Current address: Department of Environment and Conservation & CSIRO, Private Mail Bag 5, P.O. Wembley, WA 6913, Australia

References

Literature Cited

Association of Official Analytical Chemists 2000. Official methods of analysis. Washington, DC Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 2200.Google Scholar
Bakker, J. P., Poschlod, P., Strykstra, R. J., Bekker, R. M., and Thompson, K. 1996. Seed banks and seed dispersal: important topics in restoration ecology. Acta Bot. Neerlandica 45:461–490.Google Scholar
Bartuszevige, A. M. and Gorchov, D. L. 2006. Avian seed dispersal of an invasive shrub. Biol. Invasions 8:1013–1022.Google Scholar
Batchelor, K. L. and Scott, J. K. 2006. Review of the current taxonomic status and authorship for asparagus weeds in Australia. Plant Prot. Q 21:128–130.Google Scholar
Batianoff, G. N. and Butler, D. W. 2002. Assessment of invasive naturalized plants in south-east Queensland. Plant Prot. Q 17:27–34.Google Scholar
Bowden, D. and Rogers, R. W. 1996. Protasparagus densiflorus: an environmental weed of coastal vegetation reserves. Pac. Conserv. Biol 2:293–298.Google Scholar
Conran, J. G. and Forster, P. I. 1986. Protoasparagus africanus (Asparagaceae): a serious weed for south-eastern Queensland. Austrobaileya 2:300–304.Google Scholar
Coulatti, R. I., Grigorovich, I. A., and MacIsaac, J. 2006. Propagule pressure: a null model for biological invasions. Biol. Invasions 8:1023–1037.Google Scholar
Gosper, C. R., Stansbury, C. D., and Vivian-Smith, G. 2005. Seed dispersal of fleshy-fruited invasive plants by birds: contributing factors and management options. Divers. Distrib 11:549–558.Google Scholar
Gosper, C. R. and Vivian-Smith, G. 2009a. The role of fruit traits of bird-dispersed plants in invasiveness and weed risk assessment. Divers. Distrib 15:1037–1046.Google Scholar
Gosper, C. R. and Vivian-Smith, G. 2009b. Fruit traits of vertebrate-dispersed alien plants: smaller seeds and more sugar than indigenous species. Biol. Invasions. DOI: 10.1007/s10530-009-9617-y.Google Scholar
Gosper, C. R. and Vivian-Smith, G. 2009c. Approaches to selecting native plant replacements for fleshy-fruited invasive species. Restor. Ecol 17:196–204.Google Scholar
Gosper, C. R., Vivian-Smith, G., and Hoad, K. 2006. Reproductive ecology of invasive Ochna serrulata (Ochnaceae) in south-eastern Queensland. Aust. J. Bot 54:43–52.Google Scholar
Grotkopp, E., Rejmánek, M., and Rost, T. L. 2002. Towards a causal explanation of plant invasiveness: seedling growth and life-history strategies of 29 pine (Pinus) species. Am. Nat 159:396–419.Google Scholar
Harden, G. J. 1993. 175 Asparagaceae. Pages 44–47. in Harden, G. J. Flora of New South Wales. Volume 4. Sydney, Australia New South Wales University Press.Google Scholar
Herrera, C. M. 1984. A study of avian frugivores, bird-dispersed plants, and their interaction in Mediterranean scrublands. Ecol. Monogr 54:1–23.Google Scholar
Hill, N. M. and vander Kloet, S. P. 2005. Longevity of experimentally buried seed in Vaccinium: relationship to climate, reproductive factors and natural seed banks. J. Ecol 93:1167–1176.Google Scholar
Izhaki, I. 2002. The role of fruit traits in determining fruit removal in East Mediterranean ecosystems. Pages 161–175. in Levey, D. J., Silva, W. R., and Galetti, M. Seed Dispersal and Frugivory: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation. Wallingford, UK CAB International.Google Scholar
Jordano, P. 1987. Frugivory, external morphology and digestive system in Mediterranean sylviid warblers Sylvia spp. Ibis 129:175–189.Google Scholar
Keighery, G. 1996. Native, naturalized and cultivated Asparagaceae in Western Australia. Plant Prot. Q 11:49–50.Google Scholar
Langeland, K. A., Cherry, H. M., McCormick, C. M., and Craddock Burks, K. A. 2008. Identification and Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas. Gainesville, FL University of Florida. 191.Google Scholar
Levey, D. J. and Martínez del Rio, C. 2001. It takes guts (and more) to eat fruit: lessons from avian nutritional ecology. Auk 118:819–831.Google Scholar
McCullagh, P. and Nelder, J. A. 1989. Generalized Linear Models. 2nd ed. London Chapman and Hall. 768.Google Scholar
Milbau, A. and Stout, J. C. 2008. Factors associated with alien plants transitioning from casual, to naturalized, to invasive. Conserv. Biol 22:308–317.Google Scholar
Moran, C., Catterall, C. P., Green, R. J., and Olsen, M. F. 2004. Fates of feathered fruit-eaters in fragmented forests. Pages 699–712. in Lunney, D. The Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna. Mosman, Australia Australia Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.Google Scholar
Murphy, H. T., Hardesty, B. D., Fletcher, C. S., Metcalfe, D. J., Westcott, D. A., and Brooks, S. J. 2008. Predicting dispersal and recruitment of Miconia calvescens (Melastomataceae) in Australian tropical rainforests. Biol. Invasions 10:925–936.Google Scholar
New South Wales North Coast Weed Advisory Committee's Environmental Weed Taskforce 2000. North Coast Environmental Weed Survey. http://www.fncw.nsw.gov.au/doc_downloads/weed_list_187.doc. Accessed: December 6, 2005.Google Scholar
Norman, D. J. and Yuen, J. M. F. 1997. New disease on ornamental asparagus caused by Xanthomonas campestris in Florida. Plant Dis 81:847–850.Google Scholar
Panetta, F. D. 2000. Fates of fruit and seeds of Ligustrum lucidum W. T. Ait. and L. sinense Lour. maintained under natural rainfall or irrigation. Aust. J. Bot 48:701–705.Google Scholar
Panetta, F. D. 2001. Seedling emergence and seed longevity of the tree weeds Celtis sinensis and Cinnamomum camphora . Weed Res 41:83–95.Google Scholar
Parsons, W. T. and Cuthbertson, E. G. 2001. Noxious Weeds of Australia. Melbourne, Australia CSIRO Publishing. 712.Google Scholar
Pickard, J. 1984. Exotic plants on Lord Howe Island: distribution in space and time, 1853–1981. J. Biogeogr 11:181–208.Google Scholar
Radford, I. J. and Cousens, R. D. 2000. Invasiveness and comparative life-history traits of exotic and indigenous Senecio species in Australia. Oecologia 125:531–542.Google Scholar
Raymond, K. L. 1999. Ecology of Asparagus asparagoides (bridal creeper), an environmental weed of southern Australia. Ph.D Dissertation. Clayton, Australia Monash University. 253.Google Scholar
Rejmánek, M. and Richardson, D. M. 1996. What attributes make some plant species more invasive? Ecology 77:1655–1661.Google Scholar
Rejmánek, M., Richardson, D. M., and Pyšek, P. 2005. Plant invasions and invasibility of plant communities. Pages 332–355. in van der Maarel, E. Vegetation Ecology. Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
Ruxton, G. D. 2006. The unequal variance t-test is an underused alternative to Student's t-test and the Mann-Whitney U test. Behav. Ecol 17:688–690.Google Scholar
Scott, J. K. and Batchelor, K. L. 2006. Climate-based prediction of potential distribution of introduced asparagus species in Australia. Plant Prot. Q 21:91–98.Google Scholar
Smith, M. D. and Knapp, A. K. 2001. Physiological and morphological traits of exotic, invasive exotic and native species in tallgrass prairie. Int. J. Plant Sci 162:785–792.Google Scholar
Stanley, T. D. 1994. The biology of Protasparagus africanus (Lam.) Oberm. in eastern Australia. Ph.D Dissertation. St. Lucia, Australia University of Queensland. 140.Google Scholar
Stanley, T. D. and Ross, E. M. 1986. Flora of South-eastern Queensland. Volume 2. Brisbane, Australia State of Queensland, Department of Primary Industries. 140.Google Scholar
Stansbury, C. D. and Vivian-Smith, G. 2003. Interactions between frugivorous birds and weeds in Queensland as determined from a survey of birders. Plant Prot. Q 18:157–165.Google Scholar
Theoharides, K. A. and Dukes, J. S. 2007. Plant invasion across space and time: factors affecting nonindigenous species success during four stages of invasion. New Phytol 176:265–273.Google Scholar
Traveset, A. 1998. Effect of seed passage through vertebrate frugivores' guts on germination: a review. Perspect. Plant Ecol. Evol. Syst 1:151–190.Google Scholar
Traveset, A., Riera, N., and Mas, R. E. 2001. Passage through bird guts causes interspecific differences in seed germination characteristics. Funct. Ecol 15:669–675.Google Scholar
Vilà, M. and D'Antonio, C. M. 1998. Fruit choice and seed dispersal of invasive vs. noninvasive Carpobrotus (Aizoaceae) in coastal California. Ecology 79:1053–1060.Google Scholar
Westcott, D. A., Setter, M., Bradford, M. G., McKeown, A., and Setter, S. 2008. Cassowary dispersal of the invasive pond apple in a tropical rainforest: the contribution of subordinate dispersal modes in invasion. Divers. Distrib 14:432–439.Google Scholar
Wheelwright, N. T. 1985. Fruit size, gape width, and the diets of fruit-eating birds. Ecology 66:808–818.Google Scholar