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Non‐native plants have greater impacts because of differing per‐capita effects and nonlinear abundance–impact curves
Author(s) -
Pearse Ian S.,
Sofaer Helen R.,
Zaya David N.,
Spyreas Greg
Publication year - 2019
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 - 10.1111/ele.13284
Subject(s) - species richness , abundance (ecology) , ecology , introduced species , biology , rank abundance curve , invasive species , relative species abundance , species diversity
Invasive, non‐native species can have tremendous impacts on biotic communities, where they reduce the abundance and diversity of local species. However, it remains unclear whether impacts of non‐native species arise from their high abundance or whether each non‐native individual has a disproportionate impact – that is, a higher per‐capita effect – on co‐occurring species compared to impacts by native species. Using a long‐term study of wetlands, we asked how temporal variation in dominant native and non‐native plants impacted the abundance and richness of other plants in the recipient community. Non‐native plants reached higher abundances than natives and had greater per‐capita effects. The abundance–impact relationship between plant abundance and richness was nonlinear. Compared with increasing native abundance, increasing non‐native abundance was associated with steeper declines in richness because of greater per‐capita effects and nonlinearities in the abundance–impact relationship. Our study supports eco‐evolutionary novelty of non‐natives as a driver of their outsized impacts on communities.