Comparing Invasive Plants from Their Native and Exotic Range: What Can We Learn for Biological Control?1

Abstract

Abstract This article reviews and summarizes data sets that attempt to compare performance, population dynamics, and herbivory of invasive plant species. Specifically, we review results from studies comparing (1) individual and population parameters of plant invaders in their native and exotic range, (2) herbivore pressure and natural enemy guilds associated with plant invaders in their native and exotic range, and (3) performance and defense levels of native and exotic populations of the invasive under standardized conditions and the performance of selected herbivores. We found a total of 39 published and 2 unpublished studies, investigating 40 plant species. The majority of studies within the first category showed that invaders form larger populations, grow denser, have higher reproductive output, larger seed banks, and higher regeneration rates in the exotic compared with the native range. In contrast, plant vigor was not always greater, presumably because of increased intraspecific competition. Nearly...