They found an interesting adaptation. In native settings, spartina spends resources on defending itself from the various insect species that specialize on it. In growing without these specialist insects, it redeployed its resources. Generations later, this left spartina much more susceptible to insect damage. To test the theory, spartina from Willapa and the same species of spartina from other locations were placed in a greenhouse together.
Insects just cream it in the greenhouse.
They kill it. Exactly why the spartina is more vulnerable has yet to be proven, Strong says, but he has a theory. Strong thinks the plant may have given up some of its soft defenses in order to grow more dense and hearty in Willapa. His lab is currently gearing up to test his theory. Because of this natural vulnerability, Willapa may pose a particularly excellent opportunity for using nature's creations fight spartina, Strong said.