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Experimental support for a resource‐based mechanistic model of invasibility
Author(s) -
Davis Mark A.,
Pelsor Melissa
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1461-0248.2001.00246.x
Subject(s) - competition (biology) , ecology , resource (disambiguation) , ecosystem , biology , computer science , computer network
Recent theory has suggested a mechanistic relationship between resource availability, competition and invasibility. In a field experiment, in which we manipulated resources and competition, we confirmed that changes in resource availability affected competition intensity, which in turn affected invasibility. We found that fluctuations in resource availability of as short as a few weeks had a large impact on plant invasion success (survival and percentage cover), including up to 1 year following the fluctuations. If resource availability is a primary mechanism controlling invasibility, it may serve as a unifying concept that can integrate earlier ideas regarding invasibility. The results emphasize the important role of history in the invasion process, particularly the occurrence of stochastic, short‐lived events that temporarily reduce or suspend competition and increase invasibility. Therefore, it may be very difficult, or even impossible, to reconstruct the ecology of particular invasions after the fact.