EAPSI: Determining resource allocation trade-offs of an alpine invasive plant in Daisetsuzan National Park, Japan

Winkler Daniel E, Irvine CA

Investigators

Abstract

Understanding what allows for invasive species success is a current challenge in ecology. This is especially true in alpine regions, where ecosystems may be highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This project will elucidate resource allocation strategies of the invasive bamboo Sasa kurilensis along elevation and moisture gradients in Daisetsuzan National Park, Japan to understand how species invade alpine habitat under current and future climatic conditions. This research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Gaku Kudo, a noted alpine ecologist at Hokkaido University. Results from this research will provide an empirical understanding of species invasions in alpine ecosystems and connect this understanding to how environmental changes may facilitate or prevent future invasions. Understanding the changes these regions will undergo is vital to helping federal agencies protect and manage lands. Furthermore, linking resource allocation strategies and their responses to environmental variation can assist in producing a mechanistically-based predictive framework for ecologists and climate change scientists. Climate change is expected to enhance or hinder the threat of biological invasions. The invasive species S. kurilensis has already had pronounced effects on snow-meadow plant communities, including the loss of over a third of native species in some areas. This project will employ a comparative approach of resource allocation patterns in historical and recently expanded ranges. Specifically, how shifts in biomass allocation facilitate invasive species range expansions in alpine systems will be evaluated. Elevation and moisture gradients within ranges will be examined to understand how morphological and physiological plasticity will affect the species' distribution. This research will result is an integrative model of species invasion in a changing climate. This project will enable predictions on how future climate condition will affect the spread of the invasive species, and provide insight into how climate change will alter alpine ecosystems. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.