Université de Fribourg

Rapid genomic and phenotypic change in response to climate warming in a widespread plant invader

Sun, Yan ; Bossdorf, Oliver ; Grados, Ramon D. ; Liao, Zhi, Yong ; Müller‐Schärer, Heinz

In: Global Change Biology, 2020//n/a/-

Predicting plant distributions under climate change is constrained by our limited understanding of potential rapid adaptive evolution. In an experimental evolution study with the invasive common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) we subjected replicated populations of the same initial genetic composition to simulated climate warming. Pooled DNA sequencing of parental and offspring...

Université de Fribourg

Assessing the risks of non-target feeding by the accidentally introduced ragweed leaf beetle, Ophraella communa, to native European plant species

Augustinus, Benno Andreas ; Gentili, Rodolfo ; Horvath, David ; Naderi, Ruhollah ; Sun, Yan ; Tournet, Anne-Marth Truce Eleonoor ; Schaffner, Urs ; Müller-Schärer, Heinz

In: Biological Control, 2020, vol. 150, p. 104356

In 2013, the North American oligophagous leaf beetle, Ophraella communa LeSage (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), was found in Europe for the first time. Recent studies in Northern Italy and Southern Switzerland record extensive defoliation by O. communa on its preferred host, common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. (Asteraceae, Tribe Heliantheae), and reductions in its flowering and seeding. In...

Université de Fribourg

Biocontrol of invasive weeds under climate change: progress, challenges and management implications

Sun, Yan ; Ding, Jianqing ; Siemann, Evan ; Keller, Stephen R.

In: Current Opinion in Insect Science, 2020, vol. 38, p. 72–78

Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency and impact of plant invasions, creating a need for new control strategies as part of mitigation planning. The complex interactions between invasive plants and biocontrol agents have created distinct policy and management challenges, including the effectiveness and risk assessment of biocontrol under different climate change scenarios. In...

Université de Fribourg

Phylogenetic diversity is a better predictor of wetland community resistance to Alternanthera philoxeroides invasion than species richness

Qin, Tian‐Jian ; Zhou, Jian ; Sun, Yan ; Müller‐Schärer, Heinz ; Luo, Fang‐Li ; Dong, Bi‐Cheng ; Li, Hong‐Li ; Yu, Fei‐Hai

In: Plant Biology, 2020/n/a/n/a/-

Highly biodiversity communities have been shown to better resist plant invasions through complementarity effects. Species richness (SR) is a widely used biodiversity metric but lacks explanatory power when there are only a few species. Communities with low SR can have a wide variety of phylogenetic diversities (PD), which might allow for a better prediction of invasibility. We assessed the...

Université de Fribourg

Biological weed control to relieve millions from Ambrosia allergies in Europe

Schaffner, Urs ; Steinbach, Sandro ; Sun, Yan ; Skjøth, Carsten A. ; Weger, Letty A. de ; Lommen, Suzanne T. ; Augustinus, Benno A. ; Bonini, Maira ; Karrer, Gerhard ; Šikoparija, Branko ; Thibaudon, Michel ; Müller-Schärer, Heinz

In: Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 1745

Invasive alien species (IAS) can substantially affect ecosystem services and human well-being. However, quantitative assessments of their impact on human health are rare and the benefits of implementing IAS management likely to be underestimated. Here we report the effects of the allergenic plant Ambrosia artemisiifolia on public health in Europe and the potential impact of the accidentally...

Université de Fribourg

Predicting impact of a biocontrol agent: integrating distribution modeling with climate-dependent vital rates

Augustinus, Benno ; Sun, Yan ; Beuchat, Carine ; Schaffner, Urs ; Müller‐Schärer, Heinz

In: Ecological Applications, 2020, vol. 30, no. 1, p. e02003

Species distribution models can predict the suitable climatic range of a potential biological control agent (BCA), but they provide little information on the BCA's potential impact. To predict high population buildup, a prerequisite of biocontrol impact, studies are needed that assess the effect of environmental factors on vital rates of a BCA across the environmental gradient of the BCA's...

Université de Fribourg

Rapid evolution of invasive traits facilitates the invasion of common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Sun, Yan ; Roderick, George K.

In: Journal of Ecology, 2019, vol. 107, no. 6, p. 2673–2687

Invasive alien plants, together with organisms introduced for biological control, are ideal study systems with which to address questions of whether, and how fast, organisms adapt to changing environments. We compared populations of common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, from native (USA) and introduced (China) ranges at similar latitudes, together with herbivores introduced for biological...

Université de Fribourg

Predicting abundances of invasive ragweed across Europe using a “top-down” approach

Skjøth, Carsten Ambelas ; Sun, Yan ; Karrer, Gerhard ; Sikoparija, Branko ; Smith, Matt ; Schaffner, Urs ; Müller-Schärer, Heinz

In: Science of The Total Environment, 2019, vol. 686, p. 212–222

Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) is a widely distributed and harmful invasive plant that is an important source of highly allergenic pollen grains and a prominent crop weed. As a result, ragweed causes huge costs to both human health and agriculture in affected areas. Efficient mitigation requires accurate mapping of ragweed densities that, until now, has not been achieved...

Université de Fribourg

Do invasive alien plants differ from non-invasives in dominance and nitrogen uptake in response to variation of abiotic and biotic environments under global anthropogenic change?

Liu, Yuan-Yuan ; Sun, Yan ; Müller-Schärer, Heinz ; Yan, Rong ; Zhou, Zhi-Xiang ; Wang, Yong-Jian ; Yu, Fei-Hai

In: Science of The Total Environment, 2019, vol. 672, p. 634–642

Plant invasion is the outcome of complicated interactions of both biotic and abiotic environments (i.e. eutrophication and human-induced propagules) under global anthropogenic change. Here, we want to know why some alien clonal plant species become invasive and others do not in the introduced range with variations of both abiotic and biotic environments under global anthropogenic change.We...

Université de Fribourg

Cross-fertilizing weed science and plant invasion science to improve efficient management: A European challenge

Müller-Schärer, Heinz ; Sun, Yan ; Chauvel, Bruno ; Karrer, Gerhard ; Kazinczi, Gabriella ; Kudsk, P. ; Lansink Oud, A. G. J. M. ; Schaffner, Urs ; Skjoth, C. A. ; Smith, M. ; Vurro, M. ; de Weger, L. A. ; Lommen, Suzanne T. E.

In: Basic and Applied Ecology, 2018, vol. 33, p. 1–13

Both weed science and plant invasion science deal with noxious plants. Yet, they have historically developed as two distinct research areas in Europe, with different target species, approaches and management aims, as well as with diverging institutions and researchers involved. We argue that the strengths of these two disciplines can be highly complementary in implementing management...