Species may become invasive after introduction to a new range because phenotypic traits pre-adapt them to spread and become dominant. In addition, adaptation to novel selection pressures in the introduced range may further increase their potential to become invasive. The diploid Leucanthemum vulgare and the tetraploid L. ircutianum are native to Eurasia and have been introduced to North America...

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are preformed plant defense compounds with sporadic phylogenetic distribution. They are thought to have evolved in response to the selective pressure of herbivory. The first pathway-specific intermediate of these alkaloids is the rare polyamine homospermidine, which is synthesized by homospermidine synthase (HSS). The HSS gene from Senecio vernalis was cloned and shown t...

Meiospores of a microsporidian parasite Amblyospora sp. (Protozoa: Microspora) from larval Aedes cantator mosquitoes were directly infectious to an alternate copepod host, Acanthocyclops vernalis (Arthropoda: Crustacea). Infections ranged from 6.7% to 60.0% in laboratory tests when meiospores and copepods were maintained together for 10-30 days in filtered water from the breeding site or in a b...