Evolutionary trajectories in plant and soil microbial communities: Centaurea invasions and the geographic mosaic of coevolution

CALLAWAY, R.M., J.L. HIERRO, AND A.S. THORPE

Species invasions: Insights into Ecology, Evolution and Biogeography

Año: 2005; p. 341 - 363

In this chapter, we review empirical evidence for stronger allelopathic effects of exotic European invaders on North American natives than on other European species. We argue that this evidence provides critical insights into the importance of coevolutionary relationships within plant communities. We discuss how the disruption of these and other biochemical coevolutionary relationships may lead to the success of some exotic species and the decline of the natives they encounter. Understanding this coevolution within the context of John Thompson’s geographic mosaic theory may provide crucial insight into biological invasions, which in turn may provide deeper insight into the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution. We also review evidence for the evolution of native plant species in response to the allelopathic effects of invaders and for mechanisms by which native species might tolerate the effects of invaders. We look at how the disruption of evolutionary trajectories in plant–soil microbe interactions may also drive invasions. Such comparisons of interactions between native and non-native species are powerful tools for understanding the role of rhizosphere biochemistry as a driver of evolutionary trajectories in plant communities, and more generally, for understanding the geographic context of coevolution.