Journal ArticleDOI
Progress toward understanding the ecological impacts of nonnative species
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TLDR
19 testable hypotheses that explain temporal and spatial variation in impact are identified and reviewed and highlight the importance of the functional ecology of the nonnative species and the structure, diversity, and evolutionary experience of the recipient community as general determinants of impact.Abstract:
A predictive understanding of the ecological impacts of nonnative species has been slow to develop, owing largely to an apparent dearth of clearly defined hypotheses and the lack of a broad theoretical framework. The context dependency of impact has fueled the perception that meaningful generalizations are nonexistent. Here, we identified and reviewed 19 testable hypotheses that explain temporal and spatial variation in impact. Despite poor validation of most hypotheses to date, evidence suggests that each can explain at least some impacts in some situations. Several hypotheses are broad in scope (applying to plants and animals in virtually all contexts) and some of them, intriguingly, link processes of colonization and impact. Collectively, these hypotheses highlight the importance of the functional ecology of the nonnative species and the structure, diversity, and evolutionary experience of the recipient community as general determinants of impact; thus, they could provide the foundation for a theoretical framework for understanding and predicting impact. Further substantive progress toward this goal requires explicit consideration of within-taxon and across-taxa variation in the per capita effect of invaders, and analyses of complex interactions between invaders and their biotic and abiotic environments.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Biogeomorphic Impacts of Invasive Species
TL;DR: The review shows that the biogeomorphic impacts of invasive species are common, but variable in magnitude or severity, ranging from simple acceleration or deceleration of preexisting geomorphic processes to landscape metamorphosis.
Journal ArticleDOI
Existing and emerging high impact invasive species are characterized by higher functional responses than natives
Mhairi E. Alexander,Jaimie T. A. Dick,Olaf L. F. Weyl,Tamara B. Robinson,David M. Richardson +4 more
TL;DR: Comparative FRs may be a rapid and reliable method for predicting ecological impacts of emerging and future invasive species and can predict, their impacts on native communities.
Journal ArticleDOI
Impacts of marine invaders on biodiversity depend on trophic position and functional similarity
Mads S. Thomsen,James E. Byers,David R. Schiel,John F. Bruno,Julian D. Olden,Thomas Wernberg,Brian R. Silliman +6 more
TL;DR: A meta-analysis of 56 field experiments that examined the effects of marine invaders on local species richness, diver- sity, and/or evenness shows that invaders, across studies, typically have negative effects on biodiversity within a trophic level but positive effects on biodi- versity of mobile communities.
Journal ArticleDOI
Impacts of invasive plants on resident animals across ecosystems, taxa, and feeding types: a global assessment.
Jens Schirmel,Mirco Bundschuh,Mirco Bundschuh,Martin H. Entling,Ingo Kowarik,Sascha Buchholz +5 more
TL;DR: A comprehensive meta-analysis covering 198 field and laboratory studies reporting a total of 3624 observations of invasive plant effects on animals found that invasive plants reduced overall animal abundance, diversity and fitness.
Journal ArticleDOI
Disentangling the abundance-impact relationship for invasive species.
Bethany A. Bradley,Brittany B. Laginhas,Raj Whitlock,Jenica M. Allen,Amanda E. Bates,Genevieve Bernatchez,Jeffrey M. Diez,Regan Early,Jonathan Lenoir,Montserrat Vilà,Cascade J. B. Sorte +10 more
TL;DR: The metaanalyses reveal a strongly negative, convex relationship between invader abundance and native populations or communities when invaders are at higher trophic levels, highlighting the need for proactive policies to prevent introduction and eradicate early infestations.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
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