1
|
Peller T, Altermatt F. Invasive species drive cross-ecosystem effects worldwide. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:1087-1097. [PMID: 38503866 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02380-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Invasive species are pervasive around the world and have profound impacts on the ecosystem they invade. Invasive species, however, can also have impacts beyond the ecosystem they invade by altering the flow of non-living materials (for example, nutrients or chemicals) or movement of organisms across the boundaries of the invaded ecosystem. Cross-ecosystem interactions via spatial flows are ubiquitous in nature, for example, connecting forests and lakes, grasslands and rivers, and coral reefs and the deep ocean. Yet, we have a limited understanding of the cross-ecosystem impacts invasive species have relative to their local effects. By synthesizing emerging evidence, here we demonstrate the cross-ecosystem impacts of invasive species as a ubiquitous phenomenon that influences biodiversity and ecosystem functioning around the world. We identify three primary ways by which invasive species have cross-ecosystem effects: first, by altering the magnitude of spatial flows across ecosystem boundaries; second, by altering the quality of spatial flows; and third, by introducing novel spatial flows. Ultimately, the strong impacts invasive species can drive across ecosystem boundaries suggests the need for a paradigm shift in how we study and manage invasive species around the world, expanding from a local to a cross-ecosystem perspective.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tianna Peller
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland.
| | - Florian Altermatt
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Sheppard CE, Boström-Einarsson L, Williams GJ, Exton DA, Keith SA. Variation in farming damselfish behaviour creates a competitive landscape of risk on coral reefs. Biol Lett 2024; 20:20240035. [PMID: 38807544 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2024.0035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Interspecific interactions are fundamental drivers of animal space use. Yet while non-consumptive effects of predation risk on prey space use are well-known, the risk of aggressive interactions on space use of competitors is largely unknown. We apply the landscape of risk framework to competition-driven space use for the first time, with the hypothesis that less aggressive competitors may alter their behaviour to avoid areas of high competitor density. Specifically, we test how aggressive risk from territorial algal-farming damselfishes can shape the spatial distribution of herbivore fish competitors. We found that only the most aggressive damselfish had fewer competitors in their surrounding area, demonstrating that individual-level behavioural variation can shape spatial distributions. In contradiction to the landscape of risk framework, abundances of farming damselfish and other fishes were positively associated. Our results suggest that reef fishes do not simply avoid areas of high damselfish abundance, but that spatial variation in aggressive behaviour, rather than of individuals, created a competitive landscape of risk. We emphasize the importance of individual-level behaviour in identifying patterns of space use and propose expanding the landscape of risk framework to non-predatory interactions to explore cascading behavioural responses to aggressive risk.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Catherine E Sheppard
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
| | | | - Gareth J Williams
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge LL59 5AB, UK
| | - Dan A Exton
- Operation Wallacea, Wallace House, Old Bolingbroke, Spilsby PE23 4EX, UK
| | - Sally A Keith
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Benkwitt CE, D'Angelo C, Dunn RE, Gunn RL, Healing S, Mardones ML, Wiedenmann J, Wilson SK, Graham NAJ. Seabirds boost coral reef resilience. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadj0390. [PMID: 38055814 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj0390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Global climate change threatens tropical coral reefs, yet local management can influence resilience. While increasing anthropogenic nutrients reduce coral resistance and recovery, it is unknown how the loss, or restoration, of natural nutrient flows affects reef recovery. Here, we test how natural seabird-derived nutrient subsidies, which are threatened by invasive rats, influence the mechanisms and patterns of reef recovery following an extreme marine heatwave using multiyear field experiments, repeated surveys, and Bayesian modeling. Corals transplanted from rat to seabird islands quickly assimilated seabird-derived nutrients, fully acclimating to new nutrient conditions within 3 years. Increased seabird-derived nutrients, in turn, caused a doubling of coral growth rates both within individuals and across entire reefs. Seabirds were also associated with faster recovery time of Acropora coral cover (<4 years) and more dynamic recovery trajectories of entire benthic communities. We conclude that restoring seabird populations and associated nutrient pathways may foster greater coral reef resilience through enhanced growth and recovery rates of corals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Cecilia D'Angelo
- Coral Reef Laboratory, School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO143ZH, UK
| | - Ruth E Dunn
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
- The Lyell Centre, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
| | - Rachel L Gunn
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Auf Der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Samuel Healing
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - M Loreto Mardones
- Coral Reef Laboratory, School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO143ZH, UK
| | - Joerg Wiedenmann
- Coral Reef Laboratory, School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO143ZH, UK
| | - Shaun K Wilson
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
- University of Western Australia, UWA Oceans Institute, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Keith SA, Drury JP, McGill BJ, Grether GF. Macrobehaviour: behavioural variation across space, time, and taxa. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:1177-1188. [PMID: 37661519 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
We explore how integrating behavioural ecology and macroecology can provide fundamental new insight into both fields, with particular relevance for understanding ecological responses to rapid environmental change. We outline the field of macrobehaviour, which aims to unite these disciplines explicitly, and highlight examples of research in this space. Macrobehaviour can be envisaged as a spectrum, where behavioural ecologists and macroecologists use new data and borrow tools and approaches from one another. At the heart of this spectrum, interdisciplinary research considers how selection in the context of large-scale factors can lead to systematic patterns in behavioural variation across space, time, and taxa, and in turn, influence macroecological patterns and processes. Macrobehaviour has the potential to enhance forecasts of future biodiversity change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sally A Keith
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK.
| | - Jonathan P Drury
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Brian J McGill
- School of Biology and Ecology and Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - Gregory F Grether
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| |
Collapse
|