Novel Weapons Amanda Bertino, Adam Burt, Nikki Gautreau, Emily Mei

Introduction: Novel Weapons  Invasive species can be advantageous over native plants by possessing unique characteristics such as:  Allelopathy  Defense  Antimicrobial chemicals

Hypothesis: Successfulness of an invasive species may be correlated with the possession of a novel weapon

Hypothesis Reasoning:  In the native range competitors coevolve with the weapon  In the invaded range native species are naïve to the weapon  Lack of coevolution leads to successfulness of invasive species

Examples: Spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

Methods:  Collected data from Web of Science and Google Scholar on:  Invader taxonomic group  Native/invaded ecosystem  Supports hypothesis  Description of novel weapon

Results:  21 papers:  17 supported hypothesis  4 did not support hypothesis  Covered 11 different genera  All species were plants

Native and Invaded Range Distributions:

Frequency of Genera in Literature:

Discussion:  The Novel Weapon hypothesis is strongly supported by the literature  Research Bias:  Emphasis on plants  Geographic Bias:  Native range: Europe  Invasive range: North America

References:  Callaway, R. M., & Ridenour, W. M. (October 01, 2004). Novel Weapons: Invasive Success and the Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2, 8,