DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Mechanisms for Successful Invasions: Yellow Starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) in California, Central Argentina, and Turkey

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Many plant species are not common in their native communities but reach extraordinary levels of abundance when people transport them to new parts of the world. This phenomenon has puzzled ecologists for decades. Yellow starthistle, an annual herb native to Eurasia, has invaded grasslands worldwide, but varies in invasive success. In California, yellow starthistle is one of the most devastating invaders of annual grasslands. In central Argentina, it can also create monocultures; however, in contrast to California, its dominance is short lived and requires continued disturbance. The goal of this research is to gain insight into why the same invader exhibits contrasting levels of success in different recipient communities. This objective will be addressed by replicating experiments in California, central Argentina, and in the homeland of the invader, southern Turkey. These experiments will assess the role of climate, local plant communities, and invader genotypes in this biogeographical pattern. Proposed comparative activities in such a global context represent a novel approach to the study of introduced plants and have the potential to shed light on one of the most difficult problems in ecology -the mechanisms driving successful plant invasions. Our ability to ameliorate the enormous environmental and economic harms caused by invasive plants largely depends on understanding how these mechanisms work.