Ecology and evolution of domesticated and invasive species

Abstract

The movement of plants from one region to another has produced ideal situations to examine the factors which regulate populations, limit distributions, and determine how plants respond to a novel environment. In this chapter the history of cultivation and domestication of plants in different regions of the Mediterranean, from its early beginnings in the East, and the accidental or purposeful introduction of species to new regions, where they may subsequently become invasive, are used to examine plant ecology and evolution where dispersal is intimately linked to human activities. The chapter focuses on the history and evolution of domesticated plants, and the population ecology and evolution of invasive species in a Mediterranean environment. The role of genetic changes linked to processes, such as hybridization in ecological adaptation and the evolution of both domesticated and invasive plants, is stressed.