Moussab/ORKG-training-evaluation-set huggingface dataset:
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Plant resources and colony growth in na invasive ant: the importance of honeydew-producing hemiptera in Carbohydrate transfer across trophic levels
Abstract: Abstract Studies have suggested that plant-based nutritional resources are important in promoting high densities of omnivorous and invasive ants, but there have been no direct tests of the effects of these resources on colony productivity. We conducted an experiment designed to determine the relative importance of plants and honeydew-producing insects feeding on plants to the growth of colonies of the invasive ant Solenopsis invicta (Buren). We found that colonies of S. invicta grew substantially when they only had access to unlimited insect prey; however, colonies that also had access to plants colonized by honeydew-producing Hemiptera grew significantly and substantially (≈50%) larger. Our experiment also showed that S. invicta was unable to acquire significant nutritional resources directly from the Hemiptera host plant but acquired them indirectly from honeydew. Honeydew alone is unlikely to be sufficient for colony growth, however, and both carbohydrates abundant in plants and proteins abundant in animals are likely to be necessary for optimal growth. Our experiment provides important insight into the effects of a common tritrophic interaction among an invasive mealybug, Antonina graminis (Maskell), an invasive host grass, Cynodon dactylon L. Pers., and S. invicta in the southeastern United States, suggesting that interactions among these species can be important in promoting extremely high population densities of S. invicta.
Extracted statement — Ecological Level of evidence: Population
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Effects of introduced Canada geese (Branta canadensis) on native plant communities of the southern gulf islands, British Columbia
Abstract: Abstract: Recent experiments suggest that introduced, non-migratory Canada geese (Branta canadensis) may be facilitating the spread of exotic grasses and decline of native plant species abundance on small islets in the Georgia Basin, British Columbia, which otherwise harbour outstanding examples of threatened maritime meadow ecosystems. We examined this idea by testing if the presence of geese predicted the abundance of exotic grasses and native competitors at 2 spatial scales on 39 islands distributed throughout the Southern Gulf and San Juan Islands of Canada and the United States, respectively. At the plot level, we found significant positive relationships between the percent cover of goose feces and exotic annual grasses. However, this trend was absent at the scale of whole islands. Because rapid population expansion of introduced geese in the region only began in the 1980s, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the deleterious effects of geese on the cover of exotic annual grasses have yet to proceed beyond the local scale, and that a window of opportunity now exists in which to implement management strategies to curtail this emerging threat to native ecosystems. Research is now needed to test if the removal of geese results in the decline of exotic annual grasses.
Extracted statement — Ecological Level of evidence: Population
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Replacement of nonnative rainbow trout by nonnative brown trout in the Chitose River system, Hokkaido, northern Japan
Abstract: In this study, evidence for interspecific interaction was provided by comparing distribution patterns of nonnative rainbow trout Onchorhynchus mykiss and brown trout Salmo trutta between the past and present in the Chitose River system, Hokkaido, northern Japan. O. mykiss was first introduced in 1920 in the Chitose River system and has since successfully established a population. Subsequently, another nonnative salmonid species, S. trutta have expanded the Chitose River system since the early 1980s. At present, S. trutta have replaced O. mykiss in the majority of the Chitose River, although O. mykiss have persisted in areas above migration barriers that prevent S. trutta expansion. In conclusion, the results of this study highlight the role of interspecific interactions between sympatric nonnative species on the establishment and persistence of populations of nonnative species.
Extracted statement — Ecological Level of evidence: Population
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Over-invasion by functionally equivalent invasive species
Abstract: Multiple invasive species have now established at most locations around the world, and the rate of new species invasions and records of new invasive species continue to grow. Multiple invasive species interact in complex and unpredictable ways, altering their invasion success and impacts on biodiversity. Incumbent invasive species can be replaced by functionally similar invading species through competitive processes; however the generalized circumstances leading to such competitive displacement have not been well investigated. The likelihood of competitive displacement is a function of the incumbent advantage of the resident invasive species and the propagule pressure of the colonizing invasive species. We modeled interactions between populations of two functionally similar invasive species and indicated the circumstances under which dominance can be through propagule pressure and incumbent advantage. Under certain circumstances, a normally subordinate species can be incumbent and reject a colonizing dominant species, or successfully colonize in competition with a dominant species during simultaneous invasion. Our theoretical results are supported by empirical studies of the invasion of islands by three invasive Rattus species. Competitive displacement is prominent in invasive rats and explains the replacement of R. exulans on islands subsequently invaded by European populations of R. rattus and R. norvegicus. These competition outcomes between invasive species can be found in a broad range of taxa and biomes, and are likely to become more common. Conservation management must consider that removing an incumbent invasive species may facilitate invasion by another invasive species. Under very restricted circumstances of dominant competitive ability but lesser impact, competitive displacement may provide a novel method of biological control.
Extracted statement — Ecological Level of evidence: Population
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Does whirling disease mediate hybridization between a native and nonnative trout?
Abstract: AbstractThe spread of nonnative species over the last century has profoundly altered freshwater ecosystems, resulting in novel species assemblages. Interactions between nonnative species may alter their impacts on native species, yet few studies have addressed multispecies interactions. The spread of whirling disease, caused by the nonnative parasite Myxobolus cerebralis, has generated declines in wild trout populations across western North America. Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi in the northern Rocky Mountains are threatened by hybridization with introduced Rainbow Trout O. mykiss. Rainbow Trout are more susceptible to whirling disease than Cutthroat Trout and may be more vulnerable due to differences in spawning location. We hypothesized that the presence of whirling disease in a stream would (1) reduce levels of introgressive hybridization at the site scale and (2) limit the size of the hybrid zone at the whole-stream scale. We measured levels of introgression and the spatial ext...
Extracted statement — Ecological Level of evidence: Population
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: The effects of mice on stoats in southern beech forests
Abstract: Introduced stoats (Mustela erminea) are important invasive predators in southern beech (Nothofagus sp.) forests in New Zealand. In these forests, one of their primary prey species – introduced house mice (Mus musculus), fluctuate dramatically between years, driven by the irregular heavy seed-fall (masting) of the beech trees. We examined the effects of mice on stoats in this system by comparing the weights, age structure and population densities of stoats caught on two large islands in Fiordland, New Zealand – one that has mice (Resolution Island) and one that does not (Secretary Island). On Resolution Island, the stoat population showed a history of recruitment spikes and troughs linked to beech masting, whereas the Secretary Island population had more constant recruitment, indicating that rodents are probably the primary cause for the ‘boom and bust’ population cycle of stoats in beech forests. Resolutions Island stoats were 10% heavier on average than Secretary Island stoats, supporting the hypothesis that the availability of larger prey (mice verses wētā) leads to larger stoats. Beech masting years on this island were also correlated with a higher weight for stoats born in the year of the masting event. The detailed demographic information on the stoat populations of these two islands supports previously suggested interactions among mice, stoats and beech masting. These interactions may have important consequences for the endemic species that interact with fluctuating populations of mice and stoats.
Extracted statement — Ecological Level of evidence: Population
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Comparisons of isotopic niche widths of some invasive and indigenous fauna in a South African river
Abstract: Summary Biological invasions threaten ecosystem integrity and biodiversity, with numerous adverse implications for native flora and fauna. Established populations of two notorious freshwater invaders, the snail Tarebia granifera and the fish Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus, have been reported on three continents and are frequently predicted to be in direct competition with native species for dietary resources. Using comparisons of species' isotopic niche widths and stable isotope community metrics, we investigated whether the diets of the invasive T. granifera and P. disjunctivus overlapped with those of native species in a highly invaded river. We also attempted to resolve diet composition for both species, providing some insight into the original pathway of invasion in the Nseleni River, South Africa. Stable isotope metrics of the invasive species were similar to or consistently mid-range in comparison with their native counterparts, with the exception of markedly more uneven spread in isotopic space relative to indigenous species. Dietary overlap between the invasive P. disjunctivus and native fish was low, with the majority of shared food resources having overlaps of <0.26. The invasive T. granifera showed effectively no overlap with the native planorbid snail. However, there was a high degree of overlap between the two invasive species (˜0.86). Bayesian mixing models indicated that detrital mangrove Barringtonia racemosa leaves contributed the largest proportion to P. disjunctivus diet (0.12–0.58), while the diet of T. granifera was more variable with high proportions of detrital Eichhornia crassipes (0.24–0.60) and Azolla filiculoides (0.09–0.33) as well as detrital Barringtonia racemosa leaves (0.00–0.30). Overall, although the invasive T. granifera and P. disjunctivus were not in direct competition for dietary resources with native species in the Nseleni River system, their spread in isotopic space suggests they are likely to restrict energy available to higher consumers in the food web. Establishment of these invasive populations in the Nseleni River is thus probably driven by access to resources unexploited or unavailable to native residents.
Extracted statement — Ecological Level of evidence: Population
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Scaling the consequences of interactions between invaders from the indivdual to the population level
Abstract: Abstract The impact of human‐induced stressors, such as invasive species, is often measured at the organismal level, but is much less commonly scaled up to the population level. Interactions with invasive species represent an increasingly common source of stressor in many habitats. However, due to the increasing abundance of invasive species around the globe, invasive species now commonly cause stresses not only for native species in invaded areas, but also for other invasive species. I examine the European green crab Carcinus maenas, an invasive species along the northeast coast of North America, which is known to be negatively impacted in this invaded region by interactions with the invasive Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus. Asian shore crabs are known to negatively impact green crabs via two mechanisms: by directly preying on green crab juveniles and by indirectly reducing green crab fecundity via interference (and potentially exploitative) competition that alters green crab diets. I used life‐table analyses to scale these two mechanistic stressors up to the population level in order to examine their relative impacts on green crab populations. I demonstrate that lost fecundity has larger impacts on per capita population growth rates, but that both predation and lost fecundity are capable of reducing population growth sufficiently to produce the declines in green crab populations that have been observed in areas where these two species overlap. By scaling up the impacts of one invader on a second invader, I have demonstrated that multiple documented interactions between these species are capable of having population‐level impacts and that both may be contributing to the decline of European green crabs in their invaded range on the east coast of North America.
Extracted statement — Ecological Level of evidence: Population
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Positive plant and bird diversity response to experimental deer population reduction after decades of uncontrolled browsing
Abstract: During the 20th century, deer (family Cervidae), both native and introduced populations, dramatically increased in abundance in many parts of the world and became seen as major threats to biodiversity in forest ecosystems. Here, we evaluated the consequences that restoring top‐down herbivore population control has on plants and birds.
Extracted statement — Ecological Level of evidence: Population
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Twelve years of repeated wild hog activity promotes population maintenance of na invasive clonal plant in a coastal dune ecosystem
Abstract: Abstract Invasive animals can facilitate the success of invasive plant populations through disturbance. We examined the relationship between the repeated foraging disturbance of an invasive animal and the population maintenance of an invasive plant in a coastal dune ecosystem. We hypothesized that feral wild hog (Sus scrofa) populations repeatedly utilized tubers of the clonal perennial, yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) as a food source and evaluated whether hog activity promoted the long‐term maintenance of yellow nutsedge populations on St. Catherine's Island, Georgia, United States. Using generalized linear mixed models, we tested the effect of wild hog disturbance on permanent sites for yellow nutsedge culm density, tuber density, and percent cover of native plant species over a 12‐year period. We found that disturbance plots had a higher number of culms and tubers and a lower percentage of native live plant cover than undisturbed control plots. Wild hogs redisturbed the disturbed plots approximately every 5 years. Our research provides demographic evidence that repeated foraging disturbances by an invasive animal promote the long‐term population maintenance of an invasive clonal plant. Opportunistic facultative interactions such as we demonstrate in this study are likely to become more commonplace as greater numbers of introduced species are integrated into ecological communities around the world.
Extracted statement — Ecological Level of evidence: Population
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Early life stages of exotic gobiids as new hosts for unionid glochidia
Abstract: Summary Introduction of an exotic species has the potential to alter interactions between fish and bivalves; yet our knowledge in this field is limited, not least by lack of studies involving fish early life stages (ELS). Here, for the first time, we examine glochidial infection of fish ELS by native and exotic bivalves in a system recently colonised by two exotic gobiid species (round goby Neogobius melanostomus, tubenose goby Proterorhinus semilunaris) and the exotic Chinese pond mussel Anodonta woodiana. The ELS of native fish were only rarely infected by native glochidia. By contrast, exotic fish displayed significantly higher native glochidia prevalence and mean intensity of infection than native fish (17 versus 2% and 3.3 versus 1.4 respectively), inferring potential for a parasite spillback/dilution effect. Exotic fish also displayed a higher parasitic load for exotic glochidia, inferring potential for invasional meltdown. Compared to native fish, presence of gobiids increased the total number of glochidia transported downstream on drifting fish by approximately 900%. We show that gobiid ELS are a novel, numerous and ‘attractive’ resource for unionid glochidia. As such, unionids could negatively affect gobiid recruitment through infection-related mortality of gobiid ELS and/or reinforce downstream unionid populations through transport on drifting gobiid ELS. These implications go beyond what is suggested in studies of older life stages, thereby stressing the importance of an holistic ontogenetic approach in ecological studies.
Extracted statement — Ecological Level of evidence: Population
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Land Use and Avian Species Diversity Along an Urban Gradient
Abstract: I examined the distribution and abundance of bird species across an urban gradient, and concomitant changes in community structure, by censusing summer resident bird populations at six sites in Santa Clara County, California (all former oak woodlands). These sites represented a gradient of urban land use that ranged from relatively undisturbed to highly developed, and included a biological preserve, recreational area, golf course, residential neighborhood, office park, and business district. The composition of the bird community shifted from predominantly native species in the undisturbed area to invasive and exotic species in the business district. Species richness, Shannon diversity, and bird biomass peaked at moderately disturbed sites. One or more species reached maximal densities in each of the sites, and some species were restricted to a given site. The predevelopment bird species (assumed to be those found at the most undisturbed site) dropped out gradually as the sites became more urban. These patterns were significantly related to shifts in habitat structure that occurred along the gradient, as determined by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) using the environmental variables of percent land covered by pavement, buildings, lawn, grasslands, and trees or shrubs. I compared each formal site to four additional sites with similar levels of development within a two-county area to verify that the bird communities at the formal study sites were rep- resentative of their land use category.
Extracted statement — Focal entity: Populations
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Is phylogenetic relatedness to native species important for the establishment of reptiles introduced to California and Florida?
Abstract: Aim Charles Darwin posited that introduced species with close relatives were less likely to succeed because of fiercer competition resulting from their similarity to residents. There is much debate about the generality of this rule, and recent studies on plant and fish introductions have been inconclusive. Information on phylogenetic relatedness is potentially valuable for explaining invasion outcomes and could form part of screening protocols for minimizing future invasions. We provide the first test of this hypothesis for terrestrial vertebrates using two new molecular phylogenies for native and introduced reptiles for two regions with the best data on introduction histories.
Extracted statement — Investigated species: Reptiles
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Establishment of introduced reptiles increases with the presence and richness of native congeners
Abstract: <jats:p>Darwin proposed two contradictory hypotheses to explain the influence of congeners on the outcomes of invasion: the naturalization hypothesis, which predicts a negative relationship between the presence of congeners and invasion success, and the pre-adaptation hypothesis, which predicts a positive relationship between the presence of congeners and invasion success. Studies testing these hypotheses have shown mixed support. We tested these hypotheses using the establishment success of non-native reptiles and congener presence/absence and richness across the globe. Our results demonstrated support for the pre-adaptation hypothesis. We found that globally, both on islands and continents, establishment success was higher in the presence than in the absence of congeners and that establishment success increased with increasing congener richness. At the life form level, establishment success was higher for lizards, marginally higher for snakes, and not different for turtles in the presence of congeners; data were insufficient to test the hypotheses for crocodiles. There was no relationship between establishment success and congener richness for any life form. We suggest that we found support for the pre-adaptation hypothesis because, at the scale of our analysis, native congeners represent environmental conditions appropriate for the species rather than competition for niche space. Our results imply that areas to target for early detection of non-native reptiles are those that host closely related species.</jats:p>
Extracted statement — Investigated species: Reptiles
Research field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Title: Is phylogenetic relatedness to native species important for the establishment of reptiles introduced to California and Florida?
Abstract: Aim Charles Darwin posited that introduced species with close relatives were less likely to succeed because of fiercer competition resulting from their similarity to residents. There is much debate about the generality of this rule, and recent studies on plant and fish introductions have been inconclusive. Information on phylogenetic relatedness is potentially valuable for explaining invasion outcomes and could form part of screening protocols for minimizing future invasions. We provide the first test of this hypothesis for terrestrial vertebrates using two new molecular phylogenies for native and introduced reptiles for two regions with the best data on introduction histories.
Extracted statement — Non-plant species : Reptiles