14 posts · 3,895 views
Plants and people change, evolve, together. We take advantage of them. The tractability of domesticated plants has allowed mankind to cover the globe and to live in habitats we aren’t adapted to. We have a sweet deal going on here. And they take advantage of us. In mankind, many plants have found the best of nursemaids. We spread them far and wide, until a single species covers million and millions of hectares. Some plants take advantage of us without anything in exchange. We don’t even notice as we spread them around or accidentally make habitats more to their liking. They have a sweet deal going on here. This co-dependence between mankind and many plant species permeates life, modern and ancient. The gradations between ‘us using them’ and ‘them using us’ is what this blog is about. Welcome to my ramblings on ethnobotany, domestication, invasive species, and evolution.
Kathryn Turner
14 posts
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- September 20, 2012
- 07:29 PM
- 168 views
Life histories of success!
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
It is the favorite past time of every invasion biologist since Baker in the 1960s to make lists of traits which distinguish invaders. We’ve been doing it for at least 50 years, and yet, no list ever seems to satisfy. … Continue reading →... Read more »
Daniel Sol,, Joan Maspons,, Miquel Vall-llosera,, Ignasi Bartomeus,, Gabriel E. García-Peña,, Josep Piñol1,, & Robert P. Freckleton. (2012) Unraveling the Life History of Successful Invaders. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1221523
- August 27, 2012
- 07:40 PM
- 220 views
Why invasives are problematic
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
Common question: Why should we worry about species moving around, anyway, haven’t they always done that? A forest is a just a forest and a grassland is just a grassland after all. What are you getting so worked up about? … Continue reading →... Read more »
Pimentel, D., Zuniga, R., & Morrison, D. (2005) Update on the environmental and economic costs associated with alien-invasive species in the United States. Ecological Economics, 52(3), 273-288. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2004.10.002
- July 19, 2012
- 07:46 PM
- 312 views
[Insert Rodents of Unusual Size Joke Here]
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
What happens when you introduce invasive burrow dwelling rodents to an island populated by burrow nesting birds? Turns out its not so great for the birds. A recent study of Atlantic petrels (Pterodroma incerta) has documented the unexpectedly severe impact … Continue reading →... Read more »
R. M. Wanless, et al. (2012) Predation of Atlantic Petrel chicks by house mice on Gough Island. Animal Conservation. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-1795.2012.00534.x
- July 12, 2012
- 09:07 PM
- 238 views
This sh*t is bananas
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
Gwen was right. Bananas don’t get as much respect and attention as they deserve. Well past when the need became apparent, a banana genome has finally been released this week. Phew! The wait has been surprisingly long for the most … Continue reading →... Read more »
Angélique D’Hont, et al. (2012) The banana (Musa acuminata) genome and the evolution of monocotyledonous plants. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature11241
David Grimm. (2008) A Bunch of Trouble. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.322.5904.1046
- June 28, 2012
- 01:26 PM
- 194 views
Chile peppers are for the birds!
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
But we like them too. There are just too many interesting things about Capsicum to squeeze into one post! First of all, they are not actually related to pepper. They are in the Solanaceae family, home to tomatoes, tomatillos, potatoes, … Continue reading →... Read more »
Haak, D.C., McGinnis, L.A., Levey, D.J. . (2012) Why Are Not All Chilies Hot? A Trade-Off Limits Pungency. . Proc. R. Soc. B, 2012-2017. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2091
- June 20, 2012
- 06:50 PM
- 353 views
Heat is in the mouth of the fruit holder
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
The heat of a succulent chile fruit can set your mouth on fire. But why is that exactly? For a plant, fruits function like cars – they disperse a plants offspring and function to protect the seeds while they mature. … Continue reading →... Read more »
Haak, D.C., McGinnis, L.A., Levey, D.J. . (2012) Why Are Not All Chilies Hot? A Trade-Off Limits Pungency. . Proc. R. Soc. B, 2012-2017. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2091
Tewksbury, Joshua J. (2008) COSTS AND BENEFITS OF CAPSAICIN-MEDIATED CONTROL OF GUT RETENTION IN DISPERSERS OF WILD CHILIES. Ecology . DOI: 10.1890/07-0445.1
Douglas J. Levey, Joshua J. Tewksbury, Martin L. Cipollini and Tomás A. Carlo. (2006) A field test of the directed deterrence hypothesis in two species of wild chili. Oecologia. DOI: 10.1007/s00442-006-0496-y
- June 14, 2012
- 08:28 PM
- 281 views
Nature’s lawnmower
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
Goats – so destructive, and yet, so many reasons to love them. Goats (Capra hircus) have ravaged some of the most diverse and rare ecosystems. Those garbage disposals on wheels will eat anything green, thorns and all. And for the … Continue reading →... Read more »
Marris, E. (2009) Goodbye Galapagos goats. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/news.2009.61
Guo, J. (2006) INVASIVE SPECIES: The Galapagos Islands Kiss Their Goat Problem Goodbye. Science, 313(5793), 1567-1567. DOI: 10.1126/science.313.5793.1567
- June 7, 2012
- 10:57 PM
- 201 views
Life is hard on the fringes
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
Even within the on-rushing waves of a looming biological invasion, there is variation. And variation matters. Invasions have edges. Few, if any, invasive species can be said to be ubiquitous (maybe dandelion?). To spread, a species generally must adapt to … Continue reading →... Read more »
Colautti, R., Eckert, C., & Barrett, S. (2010) Evolutionary constraints on adaptive evolution during range expansion in an invasive plant. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277(1689), 1799-1806. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.2231
LEGER, E., ESPELAND, E., MERRILL, K., & MEYER, S. (2009) Genetic variation and local adaptation at a cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion edge in western Nevada . Molecular Ecology, 18(21), 4366-4379. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04357.x
- May 31, 2012
- 08:42 PM
- 414 views
A Loverly Bunch of Coconuts
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
Some things about coconuts blow my mind. There are about a million interesting things to say about coconuts (Cocos nucifera). For example, what can’t you use them for? Oil, fiber, food, beverages of the virgin and non-virgin varieties, fuel for … Continue reading →... Read more »
Gunn, B., Baudouin, L., & Olsen, K. (2011) Independent Origins of Cultivated Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) in the Old World Tropics. PLoS ONE, 6(6). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021143
- May 24, 2012
- 06:25 PM
- 183 views
Latin spice, make it nice
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
Think of the geographic origins of all your favorite spicy food cultures. What do these places have in common? Warm tropical breezes? Afternoon siestas? As little clothing as culturally acceptable? Sure. But also PATHOGEN LOAD. If you think about the … Continue reading →... Read more »
Sherman, P., & Hash, G. (2001) Why vegetable recipes are not very spicy. Evolution and Human Behavior, 22(3), 147-163. DOI: 10.1016/S1090-5138(00)00068-4
- May 3, 2012
- 08:21 PM
- 355 views
Agave de Mayo
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
Sure, tequila is delicious. But we all pay the price for it. First of all, just forget about anything you may have tried out of a plastic bottle with a sombrero hat for a top. That travesty is what happens … Continue reading →... Read more »
Zizumbo-Villarreal, D., Vargas-Ponce, O., Rosales-Adame, J., & Colunga-GarcíaMarín, P. (2012) Sustainability of the traditional management of Agave genetic resources in the elaboration of mezcal and tequila spirits in western Mexico. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. DOI: 10.1007/s10722-012-9812-z
- March 29, 2012
- 09:00 PM
- 306 views
Phylogeny of fun: a botanist’s best party piece
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
Fun plants are fun. For example, Humulus lupulus, also known as hops, is an extremely interesting plant. The female flowering structure (a ‘cone’, or technically, a catkin) is used in the production of beer as a predominant flavoring agent (though … Continue reading →... Read more »
Song, B., Wang, X., Li, F., & Hong, D. (2001) Further evidence for paraphyly of the Celtidaceae from the chloroplast gene mat K. Plant Systematics and Evolution, 228(1-2), 107-115. DOI: 10.1007/s006060170041
Sytsma, K., Morawetz, J., Pires, J., Nepokroeff, M., Conti, E., Zjhra, M., Hall, J., & Chase, M. (2002) Urticalean rosids: circumscription, rosid ancestry, and phylogenetics based on rbcL, trnL-F, and ndhF sequences. American Journal of Botany, 89(9), 1531-1546. DOI: 10.3732/ajb.89.9.1531
- March 8, 2012
- 05:19 PM
- 313 views
The python the hunters will defeat
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
Reality TV isn’t generally known for its positive contributions to society. But with this recently published paper on the impacts of invasive Burmese pythons in the Everglades of south Florida, one show seems particularly noteworthy. National Geographic/OLN’s reality show “Python … Continue reading →... Read more »
Dorcas, M., Willson, J., Reed, R., Snow, R., Rochford, M., Miller, M., Meshaka, W., Andreadis, P., Mazzotti, F., Romagosa, C.... (2012) From the Cover: Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(7), 2418-2422. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1115226109
- March 1, 2012
- 06:35 PM
- 357 views
News Flash: We’re the Problem
by Kathryn Turner in Alien Plantation
Everyone loves a paradox. Invasion biology is full of them (ok… all biology). One of the more irritating ones is the problem of scale (Fridley et al. 2007). When invasion biologists conduct large scale observational studies (such as by scouring … Continue reading →... Read more »
Fridley JD, Stachowicz JJ, Naeem S, Sax DF, Seabloom EW, Smith MD, Stohlgren TJ, Tilman D, & Von Holle B. (2007) The invasion paradox: reconciling pattern and process in species invasions. Ecology, 88(1), 3-17. PMID: 17489447
Guo, Q., Rejmanek, M., & Wen, J. (2012) Geographical, socioeconomic, and ecological determinants of exotic plant naturalization in the United States: insights and updates from improved data. NeoBiota, 41. DOI: 10.3897/neobiota.12.2419
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