Dissertation Research: Comparative Ecological Studies Between a Native (Lonicera sempervirens) and an Introduced Congener (L. japonica)

入侵植物物种的研究往往强调试图对入侵者的生活史特征和对其遗传变异的描述进行概括。在这些尝试中，人们经常比较原生于差异很大的气候和生境的物种。结果往往是对只有共同入侵能力的物种进行比较。对与入侵同源物一起生长的本地物种的比较研究一再被认为是一种更清楚地了解实际上使一个物种成为入侵物种的属性的手段。这种类型的比较研究也有助于理解植物入侵者可能在其发生的社区中影响的变化。这项研究将进行这样的比较。研究的重点将是原产于亚洲的金银花和原产于美国东南部的西美忍冬。本次调查将在美国东南部L所在的地方进行。自19世纪初以来，日本稻一直是一种入侵物种。这项研究将包括种子出苗、幼苗存活、生长速度、光利用的时间变化以及优先食草性对两个物种之间的生长和建立可能产生的任何影响的比较研究。传粉者竞争对种群生物学的潜在影响将通过观察这两个同源种群内和种群之间的授粉来检验。植物群落结构的变化将通过对一系列连续的老田的群落组成进行抽样来衡量。拟议的项目将有助于更好地了解入侵物种与本地物种相比可能具有的优势，以及它们的存在可能对演替和植物群落结构产生的影响。

The study of invasive plant species has often emphasized attempts to make generalizations about the life history characteristics of invaders and descriptions of their genetic variability. In these attempts, species native to widely divergent climates and habitats are often compared. The results are often a comparison of species that only have their invasive ability in common. Comparative study of a native species growing with an invasive congener has been repeatedly suggested as a means of gaining a clearer understanding of the attributes that actually do enable a species to become invasive. This type of comparative study could also contribute to an understanding of the changes plant invaders may affect in the communities in which they occur. This study will perform such a comparison. The focus of the study will be Lonicero japonica native to Asia, and Lonicera sempervirens native to the southeastern United States. This investigation will be conducted in the southeastern United States where L . japonica has been an invasive species since the early 19th century. This study will include a comparative examination of seed emergence, seedling survival, growth rates, temporal variation in light utilization, and any effects preferential herbivory may have on growth and establishment between the two species. The potential effects of pollinator competition on population biology will be examined through observations of pollination within and among populations of these two congeners. Changes in plant community structure will be measured by sampling community composition in a series of successive old fields. The proposed project will contribute to an improved understanding of the possible advantages invading species have as compared to native species, the effects their presence may have on succession and plant community structure.