Moussab/ORKG-training-evaluation-set huggingface dataset:
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Invasional 'meltdown' on an oceanic island
Abstract: Islands can serve as model systems for understanding how biological invasions affect community structure and ecosystem function. Here we show invasion by the alien crazy ant Anoplolepis gracilipes causes a rapid, catastrophic shift in the rain forest ecosystem of a tropical oceanic island, affecting at least three trophic levels. In invaded areas, crazy ants extirpate the red land crab, the dominant endemic consumer on the forest floor. In doing so, crazy ants indirectly release seedling recruitment, enhance species richness of seedlings, and slow litter breakdown. In the forest canopy, new associations between this invasive ant and honeydew-secreting scale insects accelerate and diversify impacts. Sustained high densities of foraging ants on canopy trees result in high population densities of hostgeneralist scale insects and growth of sooty moulds, leading to canopy dieback and even deaths of canopy trees. The indirect fallout from the displacement of a native keystone species by an ant invader, itself abetted by introduced/cryptogenic mutualists, produces synergism in impacts to precipitate invasional meltdown in this system.
Extracted statement — hypothesis: Invasional meltdown
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Positive interactions between nonindigenous species facilitate transport by human vectors
Abstract: Numerous studies have shown how interactions between nonindigenous spe- cies (NIS) can accelerate the rate at which they establish and spread in invaded habitats, leading to an "invasional meltdown." We investigated facilitation at an earlier stage in the invasion process: during entrainment of propagules in a transport pathway. The introduced bryozoan Watersipora subtorquata is tolerant of several antifouling biocides and a common component of hull-fouling assemblages, a major transport pathway for aquatic NIS. We predicted that colonies of W. subtorquata act as nontoxic refugia for other, less tolerant species to settle on. We compared rates of recruitment of W. subtorquata and other fouling organisms to surfaces coated with three antifouling paints and a nontoxic primer in coastal marinas in Queensland, Australia. Diversity and abundance of fouling taxa were compared between bryozoan colonies and adjacent toxic or nontoxic paint surfaces. After 16 weeks immersion, W. subtorquata covered up to 64% of the tile surfaces coated in antifouling paint. Twenty-two taxa occurred exclusively on W. subtorquata and were not found on toxic surfaces. Other fouling taxa present on toxic surfaces were up to 248 times more abundant on W. subtorquata. Because biocides leach from the paint surface, we expected a positive relationship between the size of W. subtorquata colonies and the abundance and diversity of epibionts. To test this, we compared recruitment of fouling organisms to mimic W. subtorquata colonies of three different sizes that had the same total surface area. Sec- ondary recruitment to mimic colonies was greater when the surrounding paint surface contained biocides. Contrary to our predictions, epibionts were most abundant on small mimic colonies with a large total perimeter. This pattern was observed in encrusting and erect bryozoans, tubiculous amphipods, and serpulid and sabellid polychaetes, but only in the presence of toxic paint. Our results show that W. subtorquata acts as a foundation species for fouling assemblages on ship hulls and facilitates the transport of other species at greater abundance and frequency than would otherwise be possible. Invasion success may be increased by positive interactions between NIS that enhance the delivery of prop- agules by human transport vectors.
Extracted statement — hypothesis: Invasional meltdown
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Recent biological invasion may hasten invasional meltdown by accelerating historical introductions
Abstract: Biological invasions are rapidly producing planet-wide changes in biodiversity and ecosystem function. In coastal waters of the U.S., >500 invaders have become established, and new introductions continue at an increasing rate. Although most species have little impact on native communities, some initially benign introductions may occasionally turn into damaging invasions, although such introductions are rarely documented. Here, I demonstrate that a recently introduced crab has resulted in the rapid spread and increase of an introduced bivalve that had been rare in the system for nearly 50 yr. This increase has occurred through the positive indirect effects of predation by the introduced crab on native bivalves. I used field and laboratory experiments to show that the mechanism is size-specific predation interacting with the different reproductive life histories of the native (protandrous hermaphrodite) and the introduced (dioecious) bivalves. These results suggest that positive interactions among the hundreds of introduced species that are accumulating in coastal systems could result in the rapid transformation of previously benign introductions into aggressively expanding invasions. Even if future management efforts reduce the number of new introductions, given the large number of species already present, there is a high potential for positive interactions to produce many future management problems. Given that invasional meltdown is now being documented in natural systems, I suggest that coastal systems may be closer to this threshold than currently believed.
Extracted statement — hypothesis: Invasional meltdown
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Functional diversity of mammalian predators and extinction in island birds
Abstract: The probability of a bird species going extinct on oceanic islands in the period since European colonization is predicted by the number of introduced predatory mammal species, but the exact mechanism driving this relationship is unknown. One possibility is that larger exotic predator communities include a wider array of predator functional types. These predator communities may target native bird species with a wider range of behavioral or life history characteristics. We explored the hypothesis that the functional diversity of the exotic predators drives bird species extinctions. We also tested how different combinations of functionally important traits of the predators explain variation in extinction probability. Our results suggest a unique impact of each introduced mammal species on native bird populations, as opposed to a situation where predators exhibit functional redundancy. Further, the impact of each additional predator may be facilitated by those already present, suggesting the possibility of “invasional meltdown.”
Extracted statement — hypothesis: Invasional meltdown
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: A null model of temporal trends in biological invasion records
Abstract: Biological invasions are a growing aspect of global biodiversity change. In many regions, introduced species richness increases supralinearly over time. This does not, however, necessarily indicate increasing introduction rates or invasion success. We develop a simple null model to identify the expected trend in invasion records over time. For constant introduction rates and success, the expected trend is exponentially increasing. Model extensions with varying introduction rate and success can also generate exponential distributions. We then analyse temporal trends in aquatic, marine and terrestrial invasion records. Most data sets support an exponential distribution (15/16) and the null invasion model (12/16). Thus, our model shows that no change in introduction rate or success need be invoked to explain the majority of observed trends. Further, an exponential trend does not necessarily indicate increasing invasion success or 'invasional meltdown', and a saturating trend does not necessarily indicate decreasing success or biotic resistance.
Extracted statement — hypothesis: Invasional meltdown
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Inhibition between invasives: a newly introduced predator moderates the impacts of a previously established invasive predator
Abstract: 1. With continued globalization, species are being transported and introduced into novel habitats at an accelerating rate. Interactions between invasive species may provide important mechanisms that moderate their impacts on native species. 2. The European green crab Carcinus maenas is an aggressive predator that was introduced to the east coast of North America in the mid-1800 s and is capable of rapid consumption of bivalve prey. A newer invasive predator, the Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus, was first discovered on the Atlantic coast in the 1980s, and now inhabits many of the same regions as C. maenas within the Gulf of Maine. Using a series of field and laboratory investigations, we examined the consequences of interactions between these predators. 3. Density patterns of these two species at different spatial scales are consistent with negative interactions. As a result of these interactions, C. maenas alters its diet to consume fewer mussels, its preferred prey, in the presence of H. sanguineus. Decreased mussel consumption in turn leads to lower growth rates for C. maenas, with potential detrimental effects on C. maenas populations. 4. Rather than an invasional meltdown, this study demonstrates that, within the Gulf of Maine, this new invasive predator can moderate the impacts of the older invasive predator.
Extracted statement — hypothesis: Invasional meltdown
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Enemy release or invasional meltdown? Deer preference for exotic and native trees on Isla Victoria, Argentina
Abstract: How interactions between exotic species affect invasion impact is a fundamental issue on both theoretical and applied grounds. Exotics can facilitate establishment and invasion of other exotics (invasional meltdown) or they can restrict them by re-establishing natural population control (as predicted by the enemy- release hypothesis). We studied forest invasion on an Argentinean island where 43 species of Pinaceae, including 60% of the world's recorded invasive Pinaceae, were introduced c. 1920 but where few species are colonizing pristine areas. In this area two species of Palearctic deer, natural enemies of most Pinaceae, were introduced 80 years ago. Expecting deer to help to control the exotics, we conducted a cafeteria experiment to assess deer preferences among the two dominant native species (a conifer, Austrocedrus chilensis, and a broadleaf, Nothofagus dombeyi) and two widely introduced exotic tree species (Pseudotsuga menziesii and Pinus ponderosa). Deer browsed much more intensively on native species than on exotic conifers, in terms of number of individuals attacked and degree of browsing. Deer preference for natives could potentially facilitate invasion by exotic pines. However, we hypothesize that the low rates of invasion currently observed can result at least partly from high densities of exotic deer, which, despite their preference for natives, can prevent establishment of both native and exotic trees. Other factors, not mutually exclusive, could produce the observed pattern. Our results underscore the difficulty of predicting how one introduced species will effect impact of another one.
Extracted statement — hypothesis: Invasional meltdown
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Exploitative competition between invasive herbivores benefits a native host plant
Abstract: Although biological invasions are of considerable concern to ecologists, relatively little attention has been paid to the potential for and consequences of indirect interactions between invasive species. Such interactions are generally thought to enhance invasives' spread and impact (i.e., the "invasional meltdown" hypothesis); however, exotic species might also act indirectly to slow the spread or blunt the impact of other invasives. On the east coast of the United States, the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae, HWA) and elongate hemlock scale (Fiorinia externa, EHS) both feed on eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). Of the two insects, HWA is considered far more damaging and disproportionately responsible for hemlock mortality. We describe research assessing the interaction between HWA and EHS, and the consequences of this interaction for eastern hemlock. We conducted an experiment in which uninfested hemlock branches were experimentally infested with herbivores in a 2 x 2 factorial design (either, both, or neither herbivore species). Over the 2.5-year course of the experiment, each herbivore's density was approximately 30% lower in mixed- vs. single-species treatments. Intriguingly, however, interspecific competition weakened rather than enhanced plant damage: growth was lower in the HWA-only treatment than in the HWA + EHS, EHS-only, or control treatments. Our results suggest that, for HWA-infested hemlocks, the benefit of co-occurring EHS infestations (reduced HWA density) may outweigh the cost (increased resource depletion).
Extracted statement — hypothesis: Invasional meltdown
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Positive interactions among plant species for pollinator service: assessing the 'magnet species' concept with invasive species
Abstract: Plants with poorly attractive flowers or with little floral rewards may have inadequate pollinator service, which in turn reduces seed output. However, pollinator service of less attractive species could be enhanced when they are associated with species with highly attractive flowers (so called ‘magnet-species’). Although several studies have reported the magnet species effect, few of them have evaluated whether this positive interaction result in an enhancement of the seed output for the beneficiary species. Here, we compared pollinator visitation rates and seed output of the invasive annual species Carduus pycnocephalus when grow associated with shrubs of the invasive Lupinus arboreus and when grow alone, and hypothesized that L. arboreus acts as a magnet species for C. pycnocephalus. Results showed that C. pycnocephalus individuals associated with L. arboreus had higher pollinator visitation rates and higher seed output than individuals growing alone. The higher visitation rates of C. pycnocephalus associated to L. arboreus were maintained after accounting for flower density, which consistently supports our hypothesis on the magnet species effect of L. arboreus. Given that both species are invasives, the facilitated pollination and reproduction of C. pycnocephalus by L. arboreus could promote its naturalization in the community, suggesting a synergistic invasional process contributing to an ‘invasional meltdown’. The magnet effect of Lupinus on Carduus found in this study seems to be one the first examples of indirect facilitative interactions via increased pollination among invasive species.
Extracted statement — hypothesis: Invasional meltdown
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Non-native ecosystem engineer alters estuarine communities
Abstract: Many ecosystems are created by the presence of ecosystem engineers that play an important role in determining species' abundance and species composition. Additionally, a mosaic environment of engineered and non-engineered habitats has been shown to increase biodiversity. Non-native ecosystem engineers can be introduced into environments that do not contain or have lost species that form biogenic habitat, resulting in dramatic impacts upon native communities. Yet, little is known about how non-native ecosystem engineers interact with natives and other non-natives already present in the environment, specifically whether non-native ecosystem engineers facilitate other non-natives, and whether they increase habitat heterogeneity and alter the diversity, abundance, and distribution of benthic species. Through sampling and experimental removal of reefs, we examine the effects of a non-native reef-building tubeworm, Ficopomatus enigmaticus, on community composition in the central Californian estuary, Elkhorn Slough. Tubeworm reefs host significantly greater abundances of many non-native polychaetes and amphipods, particularly the amphipods Monocorophium insidiosum and Melita nitida, compared to nearby mudflats. Infaunal assemblages under F. enigmaticus reefs and around reef's edges show very low abundance and taxonomic diversity. Once reefs are removed, the newly exposed mudflat is colonized by opportunistic non-native species, such as M. insidiosum and the polychaete Streblospio benedicti, making removal of reefs a questionable strategy for control. These results show that provision of habitat by a non-native ecosystem engineer may be a mechanism for invasional meltdown in Elkhorn Slough, and that reefs increase spatial heterogeneity in the abundance and composition of benthic communities.
Extracted statement — hypothesis: Invasional meltdown
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Long-term impacts of invasive grasses and subsequent fire in seasonally dry Hawaiian woodlands
Abstract: Invasive nonnative grasses have altered the composition of seasonally dry shrublands and woodlands throughout the world. In many areas they coexist with native woody species until fire occurs, after which they become dominant. Yet it is not clear how long their impacts persist in the absence of further fire. We evaluated the long-term impacts of grass invasions and subsequent fire in seasonally dry submontane habitats on Hawai'i, USA. We recensused transects in invaded unburned woodland and woodland that had burned in exotic grass-fueled fires in 1970 and 1987 and had last been censused in 1991. In the unburned woodlands, we found that the dominant understory grass invader, Schizachyrium condensatum, had declined by 40%, while native understory species were abundant and largely unchanged from measurements 17 years ago. In burned woodland, exotic grass cover also declined, but overall values remained high and recruitment of native species was poor. Sites that had converted to exotic grassland after a 1970 fire remained dominated by exotic grasses with no increase in native cover despite 37 years without fire. Grass-dominated sites that had burned twice also showed limited recovery despite 20 years of fire suppression. We found limited evidence for "invasional meltdown": Exotic richness remained low across burned sites, and the dominant species in 1991, Melinis minutiflora, is still dominant today. Twice-burned sites are, however, being invaded by the nitrogen-fixing tree Morella faya, an introduced species with the potential to greatly alter the successional trajectory on young volcanic soils. In summary, despite decades of fire suppression, native species show little recovery in burned Hawaiian woodlands. Thus, burned sites appear to be beyond a threshold for "natural recovery" (e.g., passive restoration).
Extracted statement — hypothesis: Invasional meltdown
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Invasional meltdown. Invader-invader mutualism facilitates a secondary invasion
Abstract: In multiply invaded ecosystems, introduced species should interact with each other as well as with native species. Invader-invader interactions may affect the success of further invaders by altering attributes of recipient communities and propagule pressure. The invasional meltdown hypothesis (IMH) posits that positive interactions among invaders initiate positive population-level feedback that intensifies impacts and promotes secondary invasions. IMH remains controversial: few studies show feedback between invaders that amplifies their effects, and none yet demonstrate facilitation of entry and spread of secondary invaders. Our results show that supercolonies of an alien ant, promoted by mutualism with introduced honeydew-secreting scale insects, permitted invasion by an exotic land snail on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Modeling of land snail spread over 750 sites across 135 km2 over seven years showed that the probability of land snail invasion was facilitated 253-fold in ant supercolonies but impeded in intact forest where predaceous native land crabs remained abundant. Land snail occurrence at neighboring sites, a measure of propagule pressure, also promoted land snail spread. Site comparisons and experiments revealed that ant supercolonies, by killing land crabs but not land snails, disrupted biotic resistance and provided enemy-free space. Predation pressure on land snails was lower (28.6%), survival 115 times longer, and abundance 20-fold greater in supercolonies than in intact forest. Whole-ecosystem suppression of supercolonies reversed the probability of land snail invasion by allowing recolonization of land crabs; land snails were much less likely (0.79%) to invade sites where supercolonies were suppressed than where they remained intact. Our results provide strong empirical evidence for IMH by demonstrating that mutualism between invaders reconfigures key interactions in the recipient community. This facilitates entry of secondary invaders and elevates propagule pressure, propagating their spread at the whole-ecosystem level. We show that identification and management of key facilitative interactions in invaded ecosystems can be used to reverse impacts and restore resistance to further invasions.
Extracted statement — hypothesis: Invasional meltdown
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Invasional interference due to similar inter- and intraspecific competition between invaders may affect management
Abstract: As the number of biological invasions increases, the potential for invader-invader interactions also rises. The effect of multiple invaders can be superadditive (invasional meltdown), additive, or subadditive (invasional interference); which of these situations occurs has critical implications for prioritization of management efforts. Carduus nutans and C. acanthoides, two congeneric invasive weeds, have a striking, segregated distribution in central Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Possible hypotheses for this pattern include invasion history and chance, direct competition, or negative interactions mediated by other species, such as shared pollinators. To explore the role of resource competition in generating this pattern, we conducted three related experiments using a response-surface design throughout the life cycles of two cohorts. Although these species have similar niche requirements, we found no differential response to competition between conspecifics vs. congeners. The response to combined density was relatively weak for both species. While direct competitive interactions do not explain the segregated distributional patterns of these two species, we predict that invasions of either species singly, or both species together, would have similar impacts. When prioritizing which areas to target to prevent the spread of one of the species, it is better to focus on areas as yet unaffected by its congener; where the congener is already present, invasional interference makes it unlikely that the net effect will change.
Extracted statement — hypothesis: Invasional meltdown