Unresolved composition of Lantana camara: Impediment to its management
2015-04-14
(Press-News.org) A group of plant invasion ecologists from University of Delhi, India have highlighted the need to disentangle the composition of the highly variable Lantana species complex in order to facilitate management efforts towards this highly invasive species. The study was published in the latest issue of the open access journal NeoBiota.
The native range of L. camara is Central and South America; however it has become naturalized in around 60 tropical and sub-tropical countries worldwide. The plants from this species complex are highly invasive and often colonize previously disturbed areas such as logged forests and wastelands. Importantly, the extent of L. camara distribution is still increasing.
To try and tackle these worrying trends Neha Goyal & Gyan P. Sharma from the University of Delhi have looked into the reasons why management of Lantana has proved ineffective so far. Based on their research opinion, the scientists propose unresolved composition of Lantana species complex as one of the prime reasons behind ineffective management of this invader.
The species complex, Lantana camara L. (sensu lato) [Lantana camara in the broad sense] consists of varied complex constituents; however the exact composition of the complex remains unclear. The complex constituents show huge diversification at the phenotypic (morphology of leaves, flowers, stem and thorniness etc.) as well as at genotypic level (chromosome number and ploidy level).
Endless episodes of horticultural improvement within the genus and on-going hybridization events in the wild tend to further increase the complexity. The striking diversity in the complex makes it extremely difficult for the workers in the field to appropriately identify the species of interest, predict and understand its invasiveness. Thus, delimiting understanding of Lantana camara L. to all possible weedy and/or invasive genets within the complex is misleading with the current understanding of the complex composition.
Huge diversity in the complex and rapid adaptive evolution might potentially be held responsible for complex constituents' wider distribution. The study further cautions that the complex beholds immense invasion potential in future scenarios of climate change.
Realizing the remarkable spread and better performance of the invader in heterogeneous environmental conditions, circumscribing composition of the species complex is important to check invader's future spread risks. The focus of the research article has aimed for a consistent taxonomic delineation based on morphology, cytology, and genetic attributes with genome size as a potential taxonomic tool for disentangling the formidable Lantana species complex.
"As a future development after this initial synthesis we look forward to possible strengthening of the collaborative research efforts of invasion ecologists, cytogeneticists and conservationists to disentangle Lantana species complex," explains Dr. Gyan Prakash Sharma and Neha Goyal.
INFORMATION:
Original source:
Goyal N, Sharma GP (2015) Lantana camara L. (sensu lato): an enigmatic complex. NeoBiota 25: 15-26. doi: 10.3897/neobiota.25.8205
Contacts:
Neha Goyal
Department of Environmental Studies
University of Delhi
Delhi-110 007
India
Phone: 91-9958577807
E-mail: nehagoyal.du@gmail.com
Dr. Gyan P. Sharma
Department of Environmental Studies
University of Delhi
Delhi-110 007
India
Phone: 91-9953397096
E-mail: gyanprakashsharma@gmail.com
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2015-04-14
The efficient conversion of light into electricity plays a crucial role in many technologies, ranging from cameras to solar cells. It also forms an essential step in data communication applications, since it allows for information carried by light to be converted into electrical information that can be processed in electrical circuits. Graphene is an excellent material for ultrafast conversion of light to electrical signals, but so far it was not known how fast graphene responds to ultrashort flashes of light.
ICFO researchers Klaas-Jan Tielrooij, Lukasz Piatkowski, Mathieu ...
2015-04-14
Publicly funded labiaplasties in Australia and the United Kingdom have more than doubled over the last decade, leading experts will say tomorrow at the RCOG/RANZCOG World Congress in Brisbane, Australia.
In the UK, the number of labial reduction procedures has risen five-fold in the NHS over the past 10 years, with over 2,000 operations performed in 2010. In Australia, statistics published in the Medical Journal of Australia in 2011 estimated that approximately 1,500 labiaplasty and vulvoplasty operations were performed in 2010.
In a session dedicated to discussing ...
2015-04-14
Women's human rights need to be addressed globally in order to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, says RCOG Vice President, Professor Lesley Regan, in her lecture tomorrow at the joint RCOG/RANZCOG World Congress in Brisbane, Australia.
Professor Regan's presentation 'Why mothers die: Women's human rights' focuses on the impact of human rights on women's reproductive health and the role of healthcare professionals in improving the status of women worldwide.
In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated that all human beings are born free and equal ...
2015-04-14
UC Davis scientists are leading three new research projects, recently funded with more than $5 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
These grants are part of USDA's $19 million effort to ensure the availability of a safe, nutritious and economically competitive food supply.
Preventing cross-contamination in produce processing:
One project will focus on preventing foodborne illnesses by developing and eventually commercializing new fresh-produce processing technologies and methods. The new systems will ...
2015-04-14
As preparations are made to observe Holocaust Remembrance Day (Thursday, April 16), a new Bar-Ilan University study reveals that the adult children of Holocaust survivors are more preoccupied with the threat of a nuclear Iran than their peers whose parents are not Holocaust survivors.
The study, entitled "Transmitting the Sum of All Fears: Iranian Nuclear Threat Salience Among Offspring of Holocaust Survivors" was published in a recent issue of Psychological Trauma, an American Psychological Association journal dedicated to the study of trauma and its aftermath.
Study ...
2015-04-14
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Exercise researchers have developed a new treadmill that automatically changes speed to match the pace of the runner.
The automated treadmill uses sonar to tell exactly where the runner is on the treadmill. If the runner picks up pace and moves toward the front of the running belt, the speed automatically increases. If the runner slows down and moves toward the back, the speed decreases.
The result is a treadmill experience that is much closer to walking or running outdoors, said Steven T. Devor, associate professor of kinesiology at The Ohio State ...
2015-04-14
Returning to everyday life and resuming work in one's regular occupation are common goals of transplant patients, yet not all who undergo lung transplantation can go back to work. In an original article in Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2015; 112: 213-9), Hendrik Suhling and coauthors report the findings of the first study ever performed in Germany on the percentage of lung-transplant patients who resume employment after transplantation and the reasons that keep the others from going back to work.
In a cross-sectional study, these researchers ...
2015-04-14
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- The human immune system is poised to spring into action at the first sign of a foreign invader, but it often fails to eliminate tumors that arise from the body's own cells. Cancer biologists hope to harness that untapped power using an approach known as cancer immunotherapy.
Orchestrating a successful immune attack against tumors has proven difficult so far, but a new study from MIT suggests that such therapies could be improved by simultaneously activating both arms of the immune system. Until now, most researchers have focused on one of two strategies: ...
2015-04-14
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 14 - A new study from the Forsyth Institute is helping to shed more light on the important connection between the mouth and heart. According to research recently published online by the American Heart Association, scientists at Forsyth and Boston University have demonstrated that using an oral topical remedy to reduce inflammation associated with periodontitis, more commonly known as gum disease, also results in the prevention of vascular inflammation and can lower the risk of heart attack.
This study is the first time researchers anywhere have ...
2015-04-14
Phoenix, AZ (April 14, 2015) - Researchers have characterized three different brain imaging changes in individuals with Down syndrome, who are at very high risk for development of Alzheimer's disease, even before the onset of progressive memory and thinking problems. Their findings could help set the stage to evaluate promising treatments to slow down or prevent the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms in these individuals, according to a study published in Alzheimer's & Dementia.
The scientists at Banner Sun Health Research Institute (BSHRI) and Banner Alzheimer's Institute ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Unresolved composition of Lantana camara: Impediment to its management
