Abundance of introduced species at home predicts abundance away in herbaceous communities

Firn, Jennifer, Moore, Joslin L., MacDougall, Andrew S., Borer, Elizabeth T., Seabloom, Eric W., HilleRisLambers, Janneke, Harpole, W. Stanley, Cleland, Elsa E., Brown, Cynthia S., Knops, Johannes M. H., Prober, Suzanne M., Pyke, David A., Farrell, Kelly A., Bakker, John D., O’Halloran, Lydia R., Adler, Peter B., Collins, Scott L., D’Antonio, Carla M., Crawley, Michael J., Wolkovich, Elizabeth M., La Pierre, Kimberly J., Melbourne, Brett A., Hautier, Yann, Morgan, John W., Leakey, Andrew D. B., Kay, Adam, McCulley, Rebecca, Davies, Kendi F., Stevens, Carly J., Chu, Cheng-Jin, Holl, Karen D., Klein, Julia A., Fay, Philip A., Hagenah, Nicole, Kirkman, Kevin P. and Buckley, Yvonne M. (2011) Abundance of introduced species at home predicts abundance away in herbaceous communities. Ecology Letters, 14 3: 274-281.


Author Firn, Jennifer
Moore, Joslin L.
MacDougall, Andrew S.
Borer, Elizabeth T.
Seabloom, Eric W.
HilleRisLambers, Janneke
Harpole, W. Stanley
Cleland, Elsa E.
Brown, Cynthia S.
Knops, Johannes M. H.
Prober, Suzanne M.
Pyke, David A.
Farrell, Kelly A.
Bakker, John D.
O’Halloran, Lydia R.
Adler, Peter B.
Collins, Scott L.
D’Antonio, Carla M.
Crawley, Michael J.
Wolkovich, Elizabeth M.
La Pierre, Kimberly J.
Melbourne, Brett A.
Hautier, Yann
Morgan, John W.
Leakey, Andrew D. B.
Kay, Adam
McCulley, Rebecca
Davies, Kendi F.
Stevens, Carly J.
Chu, Cheng-Jin
Holl, Karen D.
Klein, Julia A.
Fay, Philip A.
Hagenah, Nicole
Kirkman, Kevin P.
Buckley, Yvonne M.
Title Abundance of introduced species at home predicts abundance away in herbaceous communities
Journal name Ecology Letters  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank A*)   Check publisher's open access policy
Publication date 2011-03
Sub-type Article
DOI 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01584.x
Volume number 14
Issue number 3
ISSN 1461-023X
1461-0248
Start page 274
End page 281
Total pages 8
Place of publication Oxford, United Kingdom
Publisher Wiley-Blackwell Publishing
Collection year 2012
Language eng
Abstract Many ecosystems worldwide are dominated by introduced plant species, leading to loss of biodiversity and ecosystem function. A common but rarely tested assumption is that these plants are more abundant in introduced vs. native communities, because ecological or evolutionary-based shifts in populations underlie invasion success. Here, data for 26 herbaceous species at 39 sites, within eight countries, revealed that species abundances were similar at native (home) and introduced (away) sites – grass species were generally abundant home and away, while forbs were low in abundance, but more abundant at home. Sites with six or more of these species had similar community abundance hierarchies, suggesting that suites of introduced species are assembling similarly on different continents. Overall, we found that substantial changes to populations are not necessarily a pre-condition for invasion success and that increases in species abundance are unusual. Instead, abundance at home predicts abundance away, a potentially useful additional criterion for biosecurity programmes.
Keyword Biogeography
Disturbance
Global meta-study
Homogenization of communities
Invasion paradox
Mechanisms of invasion
Nutrient network
Plant invasion
Propagule pressure
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code
Institutional Status UQ

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article
Collections: Official 2012 Collection
School of Biological Sciences Publications
 
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Created: Mon, 05 Sep 2011, 16:20:34 EST by Gail Walter on behalf of School of Biological Sciences