Defense strategies of invasive plant during flowering and growth stages

Defense strategies of invasive plant during flowering and growth stages | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Defense strategies of invasive plant during flowering and growth stages Fang Yu Hu, Zhi Qi Li, Jia Chun Chen, Jia Yan Chen, Ye Wang, Jian Ying Shi, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5643248/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Studying the defense mechanisms of invasive plants is crucial for understanding their successful invasion. The Enemy Release Hypothesis suggests that invasions thrive due to a lack of specialized enemies, allowing invasive plants to allocate resources typically reserved for defense toward growth and reproduction, enhancing their competitive advantage. However, this hypothesis does not fully explain how invasive plants cope with threats from generalist enemies. This study focuses on the invasive plant Sphagneticola trilobata, investigating its defensive levels during vegetative and flowering stages through field surveys of pest feeding patterns, seed germination experiments with local plants, and assessments of changes in secondary metabolite concentrations after mechanical leaf damage. Our findings reveal significant differences in defensive strategies between these two phases and insights into trade-offs among growth, reproduction, and chemical defenses. Field survey results demonstrated a negative correlation between flower production and leaf tunnels caused by herbivorous pests, suggesting that S. trilobata increases its defensive investment during flowering to mitigate herbivory. Conversely, a positive correlation was observed between flower heads and pest-inflicted tunnels on nearby native plants. Seed germination experiments indicated that leaves of S. trilobata in the vegetative stage significantly inhibited the germination of local plant seeds compared to those during flowering, demonstrating stronger allelopathic effects in the vegetative phase. Analysis of secondary metabolite concentrations revealed higher levels of defense-related compounds (flavonoids, total phenols) and tolerance indicators (DPPH) during flowering. After mechanical damage, these compounds increased, while soluble sugars decreased. Our research suggests that S. trilobata actively enhances its defenses during flowering without sacrificing growth and reproduction. This indicates that effective defense strategies may support the successful growth and reproduction of invasive plants, challenging the idea of a trade-off between defense and growth/reproduction. invasive plant plant defense reproductive allelopathy trade-offs Full Text Supplementary Files Supp.table1andfigure1.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5643248","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":437836033,"identity":"2ba6967d-9b4e-457f-9d99-7cc852a5c309","order_by":0,"name":"Fang Yu Hu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"South China Normal University - Shipai Campus: South China Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fang","middleName":"Yu","lastName":"Hu","suffix":""},{"id":437836034,"identity":"bc79640c-baf4-4761-85c8-602bca9699b7","order_by":1,"name":"Zhi Qi Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"South China Normal University - 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