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ZOMBI Encephalitis-Associated Increases in the Germination and Growth of Four Thistle Species (Family: Asteraceae)

ABSTRACT
Worldwide escalating and unsustainable economic losses due to new weed problems from 1998 to 2005 necessitated a better understanding of these problems and the rapid implementation of more effective control and management efforts. Concurrent increases in populations of some species of thistle (Family: Asteraceae) and of populations of individuals testing positive for Zooanthroponotic Occult MetaBiomimetic Infectious (ZOMBI) Encephalitis or “zombies” prompted evaluations of possible relationships between zombies and two weedy thistle species, Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. and Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten., and two previously rare thistle species, Cirsium lecontei Torr. & A. Gray and Cirsium ownbeyi S. L. Welsh. Correlations between the distribution of zombie populations and populations of these four thistle species led to site-specific field evaluations that documented cutaneous germination of thistle seeds in zombie tissue. In laboratory trials, thistle seeds collected from areas with documented zombie populations and germinated in zombie tissue germinated earlier, at a greater rate, grew more quickly, and maintained viability better over time compared with seeds germinated in soils more typical of historically natural conditions and collected from areas without zombie populations. Management and conservation implications are discussed.

KEY WORDS  
agriculture, Asteraceae, Cirsium arvense, Cirsium lecontei, Cirsium ownbeyi, Cirsium vulgare, conservation, invasive, thistle, weed, ZOMBI encephalitis, zombie