Impacts of invasive plants on animal behaviour

Abstract

The spread of invasive species is a threat to ecosystems worldwide. However, we know relatively little about how invasive species affect the behaviour of native animals, even though behaviour plays a vital role in the biotic interactions which are key to understanding the causes and impacts of biological invasions. Here, we explore how invasive plants – one of the most pervasive invasive taxa – impact the behaviour of native animals. To promote a mechanistic understanding of these behavioural impacts, we begin by introducing a mechanistic framework which explicitly considers the drivers and ecological consequences of behavioural change, as well as the moderating role of environmental context. We then synthesise the existing literature within this framework. We find that while some behavioural impacts of invasive plants are relatively well‐covered in the literature, others are supported by only a handful of studies and should be explored further in the future. We conclude by identifying priority topics for future research, which will benefit from an interdisciplinary approach uniting invasion ecology with the study of animal behaviour and cognition.

Invasive plants as biosorbents for environmental remediation: a review

“…However, this animal is reported to carry northeastern water tick that causes tick-borne ehrlichiosis for humans. Other cases that benefited from invasive vascular plants are recorded as the vectors of pathogens, such as scrub typhus, Lyme disease, Hantavirus, malaria, trypanosomiasis, and spotted fever (Stewart et al 2021).…”

The important role of animal social status in vertebrate seed dispersal

“…Our framework provides a means to begin exploring (and mitigating) these effects. Socially mediated dispersal may also provide a lens through which to examine novel interactions caused by invasive plants: recent work highlights how invasive plants affect animal behaviour, including foraging behaviour of animals that disperse plants (Fletcher et al, 2019;Stewart et al, 2021;Traveset & Richardson, 2014), and it remains unknown whether these shifts in animal behaviour can be predicted based on social status. Our framework also highlights how environmental changes that modify animal social structure and behaviour may have indirect consequences for plant populations through changes in seed-dispersal effectiveness.…”

Invasive grass indirectly alters seasonal patterns in seed predation

“…Indirect effects of invaders can occur through various mechanisms: by disrupting mutualisms, driving trophic cascades [3,8] or altering habitat conditions [9]. Invasive plants, in particular, can alter habitat structure and change animal behaviour, thereby indirectly affecting other native species [10,11]. Understanding indirect effects of invasive species may be further complicated by novel invader phenology (i.e.…”