Neighboring species hinder the anatomical traits of a non-native and invasive aquatic grass in Pantanal.

Authors

Vanessa C Harthman, Jorciane R Seren, Marcus Vinícius S Urquiza, Márcio José Silveira

Published in

Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciencias. Volume 98. Issue suppl 1. Pages e20250744. Epub Aug 24, 2026.

Abstract

Plant interactions significantly influence individual growth, with competition for resources being a key factor. However, it's still unclear if neighboring species affect the anatomical development of aquatic plants. This 60-day factorial experiment investigated the anatomical responses of three Pantanal macrophytes: the non-native Urochloa arrecta and native species Ipomoea carnea and Polygonum ferrugineum, grown alone and with neighbors. After the experiment, plants were analyzed anatomically using standard techniques, Image J, and a two-way ANOVA. Results showed that neighboring I. carnea and P. ferrugineum inhibited the formation of certain anatomical structures in U. arrecta, such as mesophyll and vascular bundles. This inhibition could reduce U. arrecta's success in the Pantanal, as these structures are vital for optimal plant development. Conversely, U. arrecta's cortex structures were stimulated by neighboring species, potentially enhancing its resistance and competitive ability. This finding aligns with previous studies showing that higher native species richness can inhibit the morphological development of non-native species, suggesting this relationship extends to anatomical structures as well.

PMID:
42659527
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 28 Aug 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.