Title

Invasive Ludwigia spp. of southern France : History, Taxonomy, Biology, and Ecology.  

Author(s) / Editor(s)

Dandelot, S.

Content Language(s)

French

Type of Document

Thesis / dissertation

Document Status

Final

Document Availability

Reference/Abstract

Abstract / Description

Since they were first introduced at the beginning of the 19th century into theRiver Lez at Montpellier, the American Ludwigia have gradually colonized the whole of France. A morphological and cytogenetic study confirmed the presence of two different taxa in France. The diploids (2n=16) correspond to L. peploides subsp. montevidensis (Spreng.) Raven, and the decaploids (2n = 80) to L. grandiflora subsp. hexapetala (Hook. & Arn.) Nesom & Kartesz. The diploids mainly colonize the Mediterranean region of France (except for the south-eastern part), while the polyploids predominate in all the other regions. Both taxa show an intense vegetative growth, but they have distinct modes of sexual reproduction. The second objective of this study concerns the question of whether Ludwigia stands have an impact on ecosystems. The relationships between Ludwigia growth and water quality, other primary producers, bacteria communities and macrofauna were studied. Several Mediterranean aquatic ecosystems mainly distinguished by their physical properties and their hydrological functioning were investigated.

Keywords

INVASIVE HYDROPHYTE; AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS; TAXONOMY; BIOLOGY; ECOLOGY; HISTORY

Geographic Keywords

FRANCE; MEDITERRANEAN FRANCE

Date of Publication/Issue

December 2004

Publisher (Owner)

Aix-Marseille-III University

Publication Location

Marseille, France

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Target Audience

Researchers and Academics; Policy Makers

Topics this item is listed under

Research & Methods [1641]