How native plants and exotics coexist

Hungry insects prefer exotics, maintaining balance

2012-11-30

(Press-News.org) ROCK HILL, S.C. - When people hear about exotic plants invading a new environment, there is usually a negative connotation. They often think of plants like kudzu, Chinese privet, or Japanese honeysuckle, whose thuggish behavior can push out the native plants in their backyard or local parks.

While this worse case scenario can happen, it isn't always the case, according to ecologists at Winthrop University and Brown University in an article published in the journal Ecology Letters.

"Basically, we found that exotics plants grow more and can essentially out-compete natives, which normally is a problem," said lead author Matthew Heard, a Winthrop biology faculty member. "But in these communities there are also insects, which prefer to eat exotic plants instead of natives and can keep their growth in check. As a result, native plants, which are less susceptible to these insects can thrive even when exotic plants that are better competitors are nearby."

Heard wrote his Ph.D. dissertation at Brown on how native and exotic plants coexist along the coasts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. His former advisor, Brown University Assistant Professor Dov Sax, is the paper's co-author

In the paper published online Nov. 19, Heard and Sax note that there has been little experimental fieldwork conducted to determine what factors allows native and exotic plants to live side by side. While there have been many potential explanations tossed out, it turns out that just being different is the main reason that they can actually coexist.

"It turns out that in many places, native and exotic plants can actually live together," Heard said. "And this means that exotic plants aren't inherently bad like many people think, but it also means that it is important to figure out what is driving this balance between these two groups."

How long this precarious balance will remain is unknown, but for now it isn't just the case of exotic species being problematic. Instead it's the story of how differences between two groups of plants allow them to survive along side each other.

### The article can be found online from Ecology Letters here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.12030/abstract END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Hospital cleaning protocol ineffective against A. baumannii

2012-11-30

Washington, November 30, 2012 -- Current hospital cleaning protocol may be inadequate to rid patient rooms of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii, according to a study in the December issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). A team of researchers from the University of Maryland collected 487 cultures from 32 hospital rooms occupied by just-discharged patients with a known history of MDR A. baumannii both before and after terminal cleaning ...

A digital portrait for grapes indicates their ripeness

2012-11-30

Researchers at the University of Seville (Spain) have developed a technique for estimating grape composition and variety using computer imaging. They have also put forward an index for identifying the ripeness of seeds without the need for chemical analysis. This new method can help to decide the best moment for picking. The normal procedure for identifying the sugar content of grapes involves chemical analysis. But this is a long and tedious task that tells vine-growers when to start picking their grapes. Now though, scientists at the University of Seville (US) are proposing ...

People not hooked on fish could get omega-3 through fortified milk

2012-11-30

Not everyone has a taste for fish, even though it is a natural source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. And while a growing number of omega-3 enriched foods may net health benefits for people who resist the lure of salmon or sashimi, milk remains the product that has gotten away in what has become a billion-dollar health industry. But now, food science researchers at Virginia Tech may have reeled milk into the omega-3 delivery system, showing it is possible to incorporate fish oil into milk and dairy-based beverages in amounts sufficient to promote heart health, ...

Researchers discover how C. diff red lines immune response

2012-11-30

Researchers in the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute have discovered how a common diarrhea-causing bacterium sends the body's natural defenses into overdrive, actually intensifying illness while fighting infection. The discovery, recently published in PLOS One, may lead to new drug treatments for Clostridium difficile, a common germ in health care-associated infections often referred to as C. diff. It has been linked to the death of 14,000 Americans annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers ...

Penn Study finds residents believe vacant land threatens community, physical and mental health

2012-11-30

PHILADELPHIA – As public health researchers continue efforts to understand the effects of neighborhood conditions on health, residents themselves can provide valuable insights regarding public health issues and potential solutions. A new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania uses in-depth interviews with local residents to examine perspectives on how vacant land affects community, physical, and mental health. The study highlights the importance of community engagement in promoting urban revitalization. Full results of ...

Latest volume of Crime and Justice series brings role of prosecutors into focus

2012-11-30

"The United States is, as in so many things involving the criminal justice system, the country most in need of change. It is also, because of the entrenched constitutional bases of its prosecution systems, probably the most resistant to change," Michael Tonry argues in Prosecutors and Politics: A Comparative Perspective. The latest volume in the Crime and Justice series presents research that critically examines the role of prosecutors within the United States and cross-nationally, asking the question: Can policy makers look across national boundaries to find ways to ...

Making sustainability policies sustainable

2012-11-30

Sweeping environmental policies come with hidden challenges – not only striving to achieve sustainability and benefit the environment – but over time ensuring the program itself can endure. Scientists at Michigan State University and their colleagues in China are examining China's massive Grain to Green Program (GTGP) – an effort to persuade farmers to return cropland to forest through financial incentives. Their results were reported in this week's journal Ecological Indicators. The goal – developing a unique targeted approach that applies the combination of environmental ...

Molecular knock-out alleviates Alzheimer's symptoms in mice

2012-11-30

This press release is available in German. Scientists from the DZNE sites in Göttingen and Bonn, the UMG as well as from the US participated in this basic research project on Alzheimer's disease. The study is published in "EMBO Molecular Medicine". The researchers led by Prof. André Fischer, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University Medical Center Gottingen and Site Speaker of the DZNE in Göttingen, investigated mice with a modified genetic background. The animals showed behavioural disorders and brain deposits that are typically associated with Alzheimer's ...

Carbon dioxide could reduce crop yields

2012-11-30

This press release is available in German. The carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere continues to climb and heat up the climate. The gas is, however, indispensable for plants, as they use the carbon it provides to form glucose and other important substances. Therefore, the more carbon dioxide the better? The equation is unfortunately not as simple as that. The plants, which ensure our basic food supply today, have not been bred for vertical growth but for short stalks and high grain yields. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology ...

The Counter Terrorist Magazine Will Be Easy to Find During the 2013 Shot Show in Las Vegas - January 15th, Through the 18th, 2013 - Now In Its Fifth Year!

2012-11-30

The Counter Terrorist Magazine's 28th issue will be available at several events including the NRA Life of Duty ATACTV Law Enforcement & Military Range Day and the 3 Gun Nation Pro Series Event. In addition to these key shooting events you can pick up your copy on the show floor at exhibitor booths throughout the Shot Show. As part of the continuous commitment to make sure that The Counter Terrorist Magazine has the best distribution in the industry, we've partnered with some of the best names in the business to have free copies of the magazine available at their ...

Why Some Bacteria Survive Antibiotics and How to Stop Them - New study reveals that bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment through two fundamentally different “shutdown modes”

How native plants and exotics coexist

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: