Biotic resistance in marine environments

Abstract

Biological invasions depend in part on the resistance of native communities. Meta-analyses of terrestrial experiments demonstrate that native primary producers and herbivores generally resist invasions of primary producers, and that resistance through competition strengthens with native producer diversity. To test the generality of these findings, we conducted a meta-analysis of marine experiments. We found that native marine producers generally failed to resist producer invasions through competition unless the native community was diverse, and this diversity effect was weaker in marine than in terrestrial systems. In contrast, native consumers equally resisted invasive producers in both ecosystems. Most marine experiments, however, tested invasive consumers and these invasions were resisted more strongly than were producer invasions. Given these differences between ecosystems and between marine trophic levels, we used a model-selection approach to assess if factors other than the resistance mechanism (i.e. competition vs. consumption) are more important for predicting marine biotic resistance. These results suggest that understanding marine biotic resistance depends on latitude, habitat and invader taxon, in addition to distinguishing between competition with and consumption by native species. By examining biotic resistance within and across ecosystems, our work provides a more complete understanding of the factors that underlie biological invasions.

Species diversity defends against the invasion of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

“…Instead, the structure of native communities may be important. The relationship between the structure of native communities and invasion success has been discussed in many studies (Elton, 1958;Stachowicz et al, 1999Stachowicz et al, , 2002Stohlgren et al, 1999;Levine et al 1999;Levine, 2000;Kenney et al, 2002;Richardson et al, 2005;Davies et al, 2005Davies et al, , 2010Kimbro et al, 2013). However, the relative contribution of resident diversity to invasion resistance varies across different spatial scales (Kenney et al, 2002;Davies et al, 2010).…”

“…However, the relative contribution of resident diversity to invasion resistance varies across different spatial scales (Kenney et al, 2002;Davies et al, 2010). Studies suggest that species loss on small scales may reduce invasion resistance (Elton, 1958;Stachowicz et al, 1999Stachowicz et al, , 2002Levine, 2000;Kenney et al, 2002;Davies et al, 2005Davies et al, , 2010Kimbro et al, 2013). In addition, resources are used more completely in diverse communities on small spatial scales (Kenney et al, 2002;Tilman, 2004;Stachowicz et al, 1999Stachowicz et al, , 2006, and native species are more likely to resist invasion because they are likely to occupy similar niches (Davies et al, 2010).…”

“…Furthermore, most studies supporting biodiversity resistance have examined the relationship between exotic biomass and native diversity (Knops et al, 1999;Stachowicz et al, 1999Stachowicz et al, , 2002Stachowicz et al, , 2006Levine, 2000;Kenney et al, 2002). However, previous studies have focused on how native communities have affected the successful establishment of invaders rather than how native communities have affected the persistence of invaders after their establishment (Levine et al, 1999;Kimbro et al, 2013), despite the fact that the principles of biodiversity resistance also apply to established invaders. Therefore, biomass studies have explained resistance not only during invasion but also after the invader has been established.…”

“…The theory of biotic resistance predicts that communities with greater diversity will inhibit invasive species, which is supported by both theory and experimental studies (Elton, 1958;Stachowicz et al, 1999;Kennedy et al, 2002;Tilman, 2004;Davies et al, 2005Davies et al, , 2010Carey and Wahl, 2010). In many studies, biotic resistance refers to the ability of a natural community to resist the establishment of invaders (Stohlgren et al, 1999;Levine, 2000;Meador et al, 2003;Davies et al, 2005;Davies et al, 2010;Kimbro et al, 2013). However, many communities have already been invaded; thus, understanding the effects of native diversity on established invaders is also necessary (Emery and Gross, 2006;Carey and Wahl, 2010).…”

Ecological and socioeconomic implications of a northern range expansion of black sea bass, Centropristis striata

“…Furthermore, some prey species have been found to respond effectively to novel predators (Sih et al 2010, Kimbro et al 2013, Ferrari et al 2015.…”