Source: CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
MECHANISMS OF SUCCESS AMONG INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES: NITROGEN PARTITIONING, BIOCHEMICAL FINGERPRINTS, AND REMOTE SENSING
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0212732
Grant No.
2008-35320-18721
Cumulative Award Amt.
$124,955.00
Proposal No.
2007-02938
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Dec 1, 2007
Project End Date
May 31, 2010
Grant Year
2008
Program Code
[51.9]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
ONE UNIVERSITY DRIVE
ORANGE,CA 92866
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Invasive plant species have a significant influence on economics, biodiversity, and ecosystem function in many areas of the world. Understanding the mechanisms of invasive species success may facilitate the prediction of future invasions, determine the best ways to control invasive species, and elucidate the impact of invasive species on native systems. Surprisingly few studies have explicitly examined biochemical differences among invasive and native species as a potential mechanism for invasive species success. Understanding the biochemical mechanisms of invasive species success also has important implications for the development of techniques to identify and manage invaders. Remote sensing technology (sensing of the Earth's surface from space by making use of the properties of electromagnetic waves emitted, reflected or diffracted by the sensed objects) can aid in mapping the distribution and spread of invasive species over large areas. Currently these approaches are limited to distinguishing species with very different chemical compositions. This research will examine how biochemical differences among invasive and native species may explain invasive species success across environmental gradients and how this biochemical information can be used to identify invasive species distribution and spread using remote sensing techniques.
Animal Health Component
25%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
25%
Developmental
25%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2062499100050%
2062499107025%
2067210107025%
Goals / Objectives
This project will examine how inter-specific variation in N partitioning within leaves contributes to leaf- and plant-level carbon assimilation in invasive species across environmental gradients and how this variation in N partitioning can be used to identify invasive species distribution and spread using remote sensing techniques. The specific objectives are to: 1. Identify patterns of N partitioning in invasive and native species. Specifically, I will test the hypotheses that: (A) invasive species display high ratios of photosynthetic to non-photosynthetic N pools, (B) invasive species are more plastic in N partitioning in response to variation in resource availability, and (C) patterns of N partitioning and associated plasticity is adaptive (i.e., results in higher leaf- and plant-level carbon assimilation). 2. Identify and quantify the spectra of various N pools. Biochemical, spectroscopic, and statistical analyses will be used to distinguish N pools (e.g., protein, nucleic acids, alkaloids) in intact leaves based on their spectroscopic properties. 3. Validate spectral-biochemical fingerprints using existing remote sensing data. Spectroscopic data from leaves of 26 species across four field sites in Hawaii will be compared to existing high spatial resolution (0.5-3.0 m) airborne remote sensing data to test the ability of remote sensing to identify individual species based on biochemical data.
Project Methods
The proposed research will consist of two components: a greenhouse study and a field survey of native and invasive woody shrub and tree species found in Hawaii. The greenhouse experiment will examine patterns of N partitioning in native and invasive species (objective 1). The field study will use inter-specific patterns of N partitioning to improve and validate the ability of remote sensing to identify individual species (objectives 2 and 3). Five native and five invasive species will be grown in a greenhouse study on the Chapman University campus. Photosynthetic rates and chlorophyll fluorescence will be measured with a LI-6400 portable photosynthesis system with fluorescence chamber. Photosynthetic measurements will include light and CO2 response curves to obtain estimates of maximum photosynthetic rate, maximum electron transport rate, and the maximum rate of carboxylation. Chlorophyll fluorescence techniques will be used to assess light use efficiency. Growth measurements will be conducted at monthly intervals to assess changes in plant height, leaf initiation, and stem diameter. To compare the degree of plasticity among leaf- and plant-level traits, I will calculate a plasticity index for each trait. Allocation of N to photosynthetic components will be evaluated by quantifying chlorophyll, Rubisco, soluble protein, cell wall protein, nucleic acids, lipid N, amino acids, inorganic N, and N-based defense compounds using standard techniques. In the field survey, spectral reflectance measurements will be collected from multiple leaves per species. Leaf spectroscopic reflectance and transmittance properties will be measured using a full-range spectrometer with wavelength coverage from 350-2500 nm at 1.4 nm spectral resolution. I will use a partial least squares regression analysis method to explore the contributions of N-containing biochemical constituents to the full spectrum, as well as 1st- and 2nd-derivative spectra, of all species included in the study. I will use both full spectrum and derivative-spectrum signatures, and will then carry the derived spectral-biochemical linkages up in scale to the canopy level using high spatial resolution airborne remote sensing data. The airborne data were collected over each study site in January 2007 during a joint Carnegie-JPL campaign designed to map invasive species.

Progress 12/01/07 to 05/31/10

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The grant provided support for one laboratory technican (Lori Glenwinkel) who is now in a PhD program at Columbia University. The project has supported 10 undergraduate researchers: Kimberlee Cyphers, Savannah Lane, Christyn Takara, Dominic Gonzales, Kayla Ferrari, Amy Ortega, Monica Nguyen, Luke Sanborn, Gigi Schwirblat, Monica Merrill. Most of these students are female and several are minorities that are under-represented in the sciences. I also incorporated the project into my Plant Biology course (BIOL 301/L) at Chapman University. In the laboratory section of my course, I provided the students with a description of the project and we analyzed Rubisco content in three replicates of two species (one invasive, one native) for all four treatments. During the gas exchange measurements, I trained a French graduate student (Jessica Pasquet-Kok) on the LI-6400 portable gas exchange system. Jessica is visiting the laboratory of Dr. Lawren Sack at UCLA, who graciously provided greenhouse space for this project. Lastly, this grant provided financial support to PI Dr. Jennifer Funk, a new tenure-track faculty member at Chapman University. Wtih these funds, I was able to hit the ground running at Chapman and quickly establish my research program. This grant was important in providing data and ideas that allowed to secure additional federal funding and, ultimately, obtain tenure at my institution. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results from this work were presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America. The data have also been published (Funk et al. 2013 PLOS ONE) and contributed to ideas published elsewhere (Funk 2013 Conservation Physiology). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The remote sensing aspect of this work was never realized due to complications in storing and transporting the scanned plant tissue to Chapman University for biochemical analysis. The project was successful in identifying and quantifying different nitrogen fractions in leaves of native and invasive plant species. It had been widely thought that Invasive maintain high rates of growth through greater allocation to soluble protein, which supports higher rates of photosynthesis. Our work found, instead, that invasive species may succeed by employing a wide range of N allocation mechanisms, including higher amino acid production for fast growth under high irradiance or storage of N in leaves as soluble protein or amino acids (see Funk et al. 2013 PLOS ONE). The grant also allowed us to quantify leaf nitrogen fractions for two other projects (C3 and C4 grasses, coastal sage scrub species) which are still in progress. The grant also provided support for undergraduate projects that developed methodology for the extraction of glutamine synthetase from plant leaves.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2010 Citation: Funk JL and LA Glenwinkel (2010). Plant functional variation at the biochemical level: trade-offs in trait syndromes? Ecological Society of America (Pittsburgh, PA)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Funk JL, Glenwinkel LA, Sack L (2013) Differential allocation to photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic nitrogen fractions among native and invasive species. PLoS ONE 8(5): e64502. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064502


Progress 12/01/07 to 11/30/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Research Activities: The goal of this project is to examine how inter-specific variation in nitrogen partitioning among photosynthetic, structural and defense compounds within leaves contributes to carbon assimilation in invasive species across environmental gradients and how this variation in nitrogen partitioning can be used to identify invasive species distribution and spread using remote sensing techniques. I initiated the greenhouse experiment called for in the proposal in March 2008. The experiment consisted of eight plant species (four native, four invasive), composed of four treatments with six replicates each. The treatments were two levels of light availability (10 and 300 mol m-2 s-1) and two levels of fertilization. In January 2009 we measured gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence on all plants and collected leaf tissue for biochemical analysis. Starting in January 2008, I have been working with a laboratory technician (Lori Glenwinkel) to develop and optimize protocols for quantifying various nitrogen pools in leaves. We have now optimized protocols for amino acid content, total protein and inorganic nitrogen. We are still developing protocols for lipid nitrogen and nucleic acid nitrogen. We are also working on quantifying three different fractions of protein: soluble (including Rubisco), detergent soluble (membrane protein) and detergent-insoluble (cell wall protein). Education and mentoring activities: The project has supported mentoring of four undergraduate students: Kimberlee Cyphers (Chapman University, class of 2010) Savannah Lane (Chapman University, class of 2010) Christyn Takara (Chapman University, class of 2010) Dominic Gonzales (Chapman University, class of 2009) I also incorporated the project into my Plant Biology course (BIOL 301/L) at Chapman University. In the laboratory section of my course, I provided the students with a description of the project and we analyzed Rubisco content in three replicates of two species (one invasive, one native) for all four treatments. During the gas exchange measurements, I trained a French graduate student (Jessica Pasquet-Kok) on the LI-6400 portable gas exchange system. Jessica is visiting the laboratory of Dr. Lawren Sack at UCLA, who graciously provided greenhouse space for this project. PARTICIPANTS: Principal Investigator: Jennifer Funk (> 160 h, Caucasian, female) Technician: Lori Glenwinkel (> 160 h, Caucasian, female) Training or professional development: Kimberlee Cyphers (Chapman University undergraduate, Caucasian, female) Savannah Lane (Chapman University undergraduate, Caucasian, female) Christyn Takara (Chapman University undergraduate, Asian, female) Dominic Gonzales (Chapman University undergraduate, Hispanic, male) Jessica Pasquet-Kok (UCLA visiting graduate student from France, Caucasian, female) Other collaborators: Lawren Sack (UCLA, Caucasian, male) provided greenhouse space for the project TARGET AUDIENCES: This project provided support or training for several female researchers including the PI (Jennifer Funk), technician (Lori Glenwinkel), one graduate student (Jessica Pasquet-Kok) and three undergraduate students (Kimberlee Cyphers, Savannah Lane and Christyn Takara). Two of the four undergraduate students are minority students (Christyn Takara, Dominic Gonzales). PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The project is currently ongoing and I have no outcomes to report at this time. I anticipate completing all biochemical assays from the greenhouse experiment by July 2009. I expect that two publications will arise from the greenhouse experiment. One paper will report differences in leaf biochemical plasticity (various N pools) among invasive and native species across the light and nutrient treatments. A second paper will focus on the relationship among N pools and gas exchange data. In July, we will collect tissue in Hawaii that corresponds to remote sensing data collected by Dr. Greg Asner. We will conduct all biochemical assays on Hawaii tissue by December 2009. The correlation between leaf biochemical data and spectral data collected by Dr. Asner will contribute to a third publication.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period