Rapid and repeated evolution of increased competitive ability in a global invader
Dávid U. Nagy · Ragan M. Callaway · S. Luke Flory · Christopher D. Barratt · Walter Durka · Ylva Lekberg · Marilia S. Lucas · Stefan G. Michalski · Renske E. Onstein · Robert W. Pal · Julian Selke · Arpad E. Thoma · Mohammad M. Al-Gharaibeh · Ali A. Al-Namazi · Guadalupe Andraca-Gómez · Pål Axel Olsson · Shukherdorj Baasanmunkh · Sirwan Babaei · Fernando Bastida · Jonathan A. Bennett · Caio Brunharo · Darron A. Cullen · Ryan C. Donnelly · Alyson Ennis · David J. Ensing · Özkan Eren · Fatih Fazlioglu · Rita Filep · Michael Flessner · Lauren J. Frazee · Luís González · Zigmantas Gudžinskas · C. Matt Guilliams · Avni Hajdari · Erin R. Haramoto · Sean R. Haughian · J. Mason Heberling · Isabell Hensen · Emily M. Holden · Kateřina Jandová · Amit Jhala · Xin Jia · Li Jun · Matthew A. Kaproth · Hesham Kassem · Abdelmajid Khabbach · Damase P. Khasa · Matthew H. Koski · Kevin Kožić · Nikos Krigas · Greta La Bella · Jesse R. Lasky · Benjamin Lee · Elizabeth Leger · Joanna M. Lemly · Mohamed Libiad · Paula Lorenzo · Vanessa Lozano · Jacob E. Lucero · Trobjon Makhkamov · Elizabete Marchante · Helia Marchante · Valerie Marshall · Chandra E. Moffat · Abigail J. Moore · Sándor Nagy · Anush Nersesyan · Andriy Novikov · Miki Okada · Adrian Oprea · Rafael Otfinowski · Astghik Papikyan · Christopher A. Proctor · Satu Ramula · Emily S. J. Rauschert · Bryan Reatini · Christian Rixen · Scott Rush · Gemma Rutten · Amir Sadeghpour · Ioulietta Samartza · Simona Sarmati · J. F. Scheepens · Manzoor A. Shah · Min Sheng · Peter Sikkema · Cathy Silliman · Mandy L. Slate · Samuel B. St. Clair · Claudia Stein · Klara Stevermer · Satoshi N. Suzuki · Yigitali Tashpulatov · Tomonori Tsunoda · Orzimat Turginov · Tatyana Vakhlamova · Nicole M. van Dam · Viktoria Wagner · Lydia Westberg · Sa Xiao · Zhijie Zhang · Christoph Rosche
期刊Nature Communications / Nat Commun
类型Article
发表2026-09-17 (online)
卷期页17(1): 9930
收录2026-10-10
被浏览…
关键词rapid evolutioninvasive speciescompetitive abilityErigeron canadensisinterspecific competitiondrought stressnon-native populationscoancestrygenetic clusteringinvasion success
标签—
Rapid adaptive evolution can increase the competitive ability of invasive species in their non-native ranges. However, whether this increase is a general response and what drives it remain uncertain because the evidence is largely based on studies with limited sampling, inadequate consideration of population co-ancestry, and oversimplified estimates of competitive ability. We conduct a large-scale glasshouse experiment testing the effects of competition and drought on 100 native and 165 non-native populations of Erigeron canadensis , all genotyped to account for co-ancestry. Plants from non-native populations are significantly more competitive against other species than the conspecifics from native populations under both mesic and dry conditions. Genetic clustering indicates that the rapid evolution of competitive ability occurs independently in two out of four clusters in the non-native range. This advantage is present only during interspecific interactions and is absent during intraspecific competition. Repeated evolution of increased competitive ability suggests that adaptation following introduction can reshape species interactions and promote invasion success, even under future drought conditions, highlighting the importance of rapid evolution in determining the ecological impacts of invasive plants.

@article{nagy2026,
author = {Dávid U. Nagy and Ragan M. Callaway and S. Luke Flory and Christopher D. Barratt and Walter Durka and Ylva Lekberg and Marilia S. Lucas and Stefan G. Michalski and Renske E. Onstein and Robert W. Pal and Julian Selke and Arpad E. Thoma and Mohammad M. Al-Gharaibeh and Ali A. Al-Namazi and Guadalupe Andraca-Gómez and Pål Axel Olsson and Shukherdorj Baasanmunkh and Sirwan Babaei and Fernando Bastida and Jonathan A. Bennett and Caio Brunharo and Darron A. Cullen and Ryan C. Donnelly and Alyson Ennis and David J. Ensing and Özkan Eren and Fatih Fazlioglu and Rita Filep and Michael Flessner and Lauren J. Frazee and Luís González and Zigmantas Gudžinskas and C. Matt Guilliams and Avni Hajdari and Erin R. Haramoto and Sean R. Haughian and J. Mason Heberling and Isabell Hensen and Emily M. Holden and Kateřina Jandová and Amit Jhala and Xin Jia and Li Jun and Matthew A. Kaproth and Hesham Kassem and Abdelmajid Khabbach and Damase P. Khasa and Matthew H. Koski and Kevin Kožić and Nikos Krigas and Greta La Bella and Jesse R. Lasky and Benjamin Lee and Elizabeth Leger and Joanna M. Lemly and Mohamed Libiad and Paula Lorenzo and Vanessa Lozano and Jacob E. Lucero and Trobjon Makhkamov and Elizabete Marchante and Helia Marchante and Valerie Marshall and Chandra E. Moffat and Abigail J. Moore and Sándor Nagy and Anush Nersesyan and Andriy Novikov and Miki Okada and Adrian Oprea and Rafael Otfinowski and Astghik Papikyan and Christopher A. Proctor and Satu Ramula and Emily S. J. Rauschert and Bryan Reatini and Christian Rixen and Scott Rush and Gemma Rutten and Amir Sadeghpour and Ioulietta Samartza and Simona Sarmati and J. F. Scheepens and Manzoor A. Shah and Min Sheng and Peter Sikkema and Cathy Silliman and Mandy L. Slate and Samuel B. St. Clair and Claudia Stein and Klara Stevermer and Satoshi N. Suzuki and Yigitali Tashpulatov and Tomonori Tsunoda and Orzimat Turginov and Tatyana Vakhlamova and Nicole M. van Dam and Viktoria Wagner and Lydia Westberg and Sa Xiao and Zhijie Zhang and Christoph Rosche},
title = {Rapid and repeated evolution of increased competitive ability in a global invader},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
volume = {17},
number = {1},
pages = {9930},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-77819-z},
publisher = {Springer Science and Business Media LLC},
}· END ·