How are weeds adapting to life in Australia? Quantifying the rate and direction of evolution in introduced species.

引进的植物是整个澳大利亚的一个主要问题。引进物种被列为对澳大利亚生物多样性最严重的威胁之一，澳大利亚每年要花费大约40亿美元来管理它们。我们在这个项目中收集的信息将告诉我们，当植物到达澳大利亚时，它们会经历什么样的变化；植物适应新环境的速度有多快，以及哪种物种最能适应新的条件。我们还将询问引进物种是否仍在适应澳大利亚的条件。如果是这样的话，我们可能会认为未来会有更多的归化物种成为问题杂草。这类知识是我们开发适当控制程序的能力的基础。

Introduced plants are a major problem throughout Australia. Introduced species are listed as one of the most severe threats to biodiversity in Australia, and managing them costs Australia around $4 billion per annum. The information we gather in this project will tell us what sort of changes introduced plants undergo when they arrive in Australia; how quickly plants can adapt to a new environment, and what sort of species are best able to adapt to new conditions. We will also ask whether introduced species are still adapting to Australian conditions. If so, then we might expect even more naturalised species to become problem weeds in the future. This sort of knowledge is fundamental to our ability to develop appropriate control programs.