Throwing out the Bathwater but Keeping the Baby
Friday, August 3, 2018: 11:15 AM
Jefferson East (Washington Hilton)
Neil O. Anderson, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
How and why invasive species evolve has long been prejudiced by their labeling and presumed invasive abilities (native=noninvasive; exotic=invasive). Historic ignorance of species’ native range, expansion due to unintentional involvement by vectors, and their quiet evolution has caused several invasive species to become “poster children”, such as purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea), and others. Common misconceptions on how these became problematic have involved a variety of causes, including sympatry and cross-compatibility creating introgressive hybrids, lack of phytophagous insects for control, wind pollination and intercontinental distribution for their native range. Current research is focusing on how misappropriating the historical contexts can reverse our misconceptions of native species being non-invasive and how this affects control by land managers. Lythrum and Phalaris will be used as example species to demonstrate challenges that native vs. exotic, intra- and inter-specific differences confer to land managers. Issues such as a lack of phenotypic differences challenge land managers’ charge to control invasive genotypes yet retain noninvasive; this is fraught with challenges when native vs. exotic status is invoked or cultural values are entwined. To avoid a monumental impasse, particularly when native and exotic types are phenotypically indistinguishable, this dilemma could be solved via modern techniques using molecular biology.Why this speaker? Dr. Neil Anderson is a Professor of Flower Breeding and Genetics in the Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN. His internationally-recognized program specializes in risk assessment to prevent new invasive species from being introduced into the market and causing future problems. Neil commenced invasive species research in 1989 on fertility and cross-compatibility of invasive, exotic purple loosestrife newly sympatric with populations of N. American winged loosestrife (Lythrum alatum). Such hybridization was aided with the widespread use of ornamental interspecific cultivars. Since that time his research program has focused on additional invasive species with misconstrued histories, such as Cleome and Phalaris. His talk will focus on the culmination of more than a decade of research involving reed canarygrass.
