Eco-evolutionary drivers of niche dynamics in invasive weeds

该项目旨在了解入侵物种如何以及为什么会成为入侵物种。众所周知，许多外来物种在其新的范围内扩大其生态位，利用祖先从未使用过的栖息地。使用一种独特的方法，结合田间移植和定量遗传学实验，这项研究将确定入侵澳大利亚好望草生态位扩张的驱动因素，并预测入侵种群是否有可能进一步扩大其生态位。通过提供入侵物种适应性进化机制的关键见解，这项研究应该有助于有效限制威胁原生环境的入侵植物的传播。

The project aims to understand how and why invasive species become invasive. Many exotic species are known to expand their ecological niches in their novel range, exploiting habitats that ancestral populations never used. Using a unique approach that combines field transplant and quantitative genetics experiments, this study will identify the drivers of niche expansion in invasive Australian capeweed, and predict if the invasive populations are likely to further expand their niches. By delivering key insights into mechanisms of adaptive evolution in invasive species, this research should benefit efforts to effectively limit the spread of invasive plants that threaten the native environment.