DOI: 10.5061/dryad.27c5b
title: Data from: Contrasting effects of phylogenetic relatedness on plant invader success in experimental grassland communities

description: 1. Identifying the factors determining the success of invasive species is
 critical for management of biological invasions. Darwin's
 naturalization conundrum states that exotic species closely related to
 natives should be successful because of a shared affinity for local
 environmental conditions, but at the same time close relatives often
 compete more intensively, limiting ‘niche’ opportunities for the invaders.
 Previous studies have generally considered these two ‘opposing’ hypotheses
 as mutually exclusive, yet evidence for both of them abounds, indicating a
 practical dilemma for management of biological invasions. 2. In this
 study, we sowed the seeds of the invasive exotic Ambrosia artemisiifolia
 L. into 369 experimental plant communities to mimic an introduction of the
 exotics into a series of new habitats. We further linked the establishment
 and growth performance of the invader in these experimental communities to
 the phylogenetic relatedness between the invader and the community
 residents where it was introduced. 3. We found that the probability of
 invader establishment declined with increasing phylogenetic distance
 between the invader and residents, whereas the average size of surviving
 invader individuals increased with the phylogenetic distance. 4. These
 results can be at least partly explained by the observations that close
 relatives tend to create similar soil microhabitat through harboring
 similar soil enzymes (e.g. alkaline and acid phosphatases) benefiting
 invader establishment, and that intense competitive interactions between
 the invader and its close relatives suppressed exotic growth. 5. Synthesis
 and applications. This study presents the first experimental evidence that
 phylogenetic relatedness has contrasting effects on different aspects of
 invader success, thus shedding light on the long-standing Darwin's
 naturalization conundrum. Moreover, our findings also have important
 implications for management of plant invasions: for controlling invasive
 species characterized by high establishment probability, native species
 distantly related to the invasive species can be planted in sites
 surrounding the invasion foci; whereas, the opposite seems to be true for
 controlling those characterized by large individual size.
description: Experimental design and
 planted dataSown species in each
 plot in 2009, and the ID of invaded subplots in 2010. See Fig. S1 for a
 diagram showing the experimental design.Harvest data for
 analysisdata for analysis,
 including native species richness, MPD, NPD, total native biomass, invader
 density, invader size and biomass for each invaded
 subplot.Soil enzyme
 dataThe activities of eight
 soil enzymes in the monocultures. One soil sample was collected from each
 invaded subplot at each of the following two time points respectively:
 April 2009 (immediately before sowing) and September 2009 (after the first
 growth season).Soil nutrient
 dataSixteen metrics of
 nutrient profile of the soil samples in the monocultures. One soil sample
 was collected from each invaded subplot at each of the following two time
 points respectively: April 2009 (immediately before sowing) and September
 2009 (after the first growth season).Bayesian_phylogenyBayesian phylogeny of the 16 resident plant species and the invader (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) used in this study. The tree was constructed based on three DNA regions (rbcL, matK and ITS).