Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Abundance of introduced species at home predicts abundance away in herbaceous communities
AU - Firn, J.
AU - Moore, J.L.
AU - MacDougall, A.S.
AU - Borer, E.T.
AU - Seabloom, E.
AU - HilleRisLambers, J.
AU - Harpole, W.S.
AU - Cleland, E.E.
AU - Brown, C.S.
AU - Knops, J.M.H.
AU - Prober, S.
AU - Pyke, D.A.
AU - Farrell, K.A.
AU - Bakker, J.
AU - O’Halloran, L.R.
AU - Adler, P.B.
AU - Collins, S.L.
AU - D’Antonio, C.M.
AU - Crawley, M. J.
AU - Wolkovich , E.M.
AU - La Pierre, K.J.
AU - Melbourne, B.A.
AU - Hautier, Y.
AU - Morgan, J.W.
AU - Leakey, A.B.D.
AU - Kay, A.
AU - McCulley, R.
AU - Davies, K
AU - Stevens, Carly
AU - Chu, C.J.
AU - Holl, K.D.
AU - Klein, J.A.
AU - Fay, P.A.
AU - Hagenah, N.
AU - Kirkham, K.P.
AU - Buckley, Y.
PY - 2011/3
Y1 - 2011/3
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Biogeography
KW - biosecurity
KW - disturbance
KW - global meta-study
KW - homogenization of communities
KW - invasion paradox
KW - mechanisms of invasion
KW - Nutrient Network
KW - plant invasion
KW - propagule pressure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79951735044&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01584.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01584.x
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:79951735044
VL - 14
SP - 274
EP - 281
JO - Ecology Letters
JF - Ecology Letters
SN - 1461-023X
IS - 3
ER -