Island biogeography of native and alien plant species: Contrasting drivers of diversity across the Lesser Antilles

Rojas‐Sandoval, Julissa; Ackerman, James D.; Tremblay, Raymond L.

doi:10.1111/ddi.13139

Cited by 37 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 85 publications

(137 reference statements)

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“…Island-related research has emerged primarily since the pioneering work of the theory of island biogeography (MacArthur and Wilson 1967), which was considered the dominant symbol of a transition from descriptive to analytical approaches in ecology and biogeography (Losos and Ricklefs 2010). Subsequently, there is a large body of observational and empirical studies on the biogeography of island-dwelling macroorganisms (Stuart et al 2012;Cabral et al 2019;Rojas-Sandoval et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, a positive species-area relationship (SAR) leads to higher species richness on large islands according to the classic theory of island biogeography (MacArthur and Wilson 1967). The SAR has been well tested with insular animals and plants (MacArthur and Wilson 1963;Lomolino 1984;Kohn and Walsh 1994;Losos and Ricklefs 2010;Rojas-Sandoval et al 2020). The usefulness of SAR in explaining species richness patterns of microorganisms has also been investigated in some 'virtual island' systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soil fungal diversity and community assembly: affected by island size or type?

Zheng

Maitra

Gan

et al. 2021

FEMS Microbiology Ecology

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Fungi have a huge biodiversity and play important roles in soil biogeochemical cycling in island ecosystems. Although island biogeography has been widely studied for macroorganisms, fungal community assembly in true islands and its relationship with island area are less documented. We examined soil fungal communities in 18 oceanic islands of two types (eight non-coral islands and 10 coral islands) using the Illumina MiSeq sequencing technique. Our results showed that fungal α-diversity (species richness) was substantially different among the oceanic islands, with a higher value in non-coral islands than in coral islands. Fungal α-diversity was significantly affected by soil potassium and magnesium (Mg) and plant communities in non-coral islands, whereas only soil Mg significantly affected it in coral islands. Soil fungal community composition was significantly different in the non-coral and coral islands and was influenced by soil property, plant community, and spatial distance. The ecological stochasticity model showed that the fungal community assembly was mainly governed by deterministic processes regardless of island type. Fungal β-diversity, but not α-diversity, increased significantly with increasing island area. These findings have implications for the better prediction of soil fungal community dynamics in island systems and biodiversity conservation in fragmented habitats.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil fungal diversity and community assembly: affected by island size or type?

Zheng

Maitra

Gan

et al. 2021

FEMS Microbiology Ecology

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show abstract

“…This conversion has led to the removal and alteration of much of the original vegetation and has contributed to major changes on terrestrial habitats and a significant reduction in biodiversity (Dixon et al 2001). While the abandonment of agriculture has led to forest regeneration, the increasing demand for tourism facilities and the expansion of commercial and residential development is contributing to the degradation and reduction of natural habitats and thus facilitating the introduction and establishment of potentially invasive species (Parés-Ramos et al 2008;Timms et al 2013;Walters 2016;Rojas-Sandoval et al 2020). Due to the fragile conservation status of Caribbean natural habitats, the fact that invasive species are occurring in all the habitat types analyzed in this study represents an additional level of vulnerability.…”

Section: Implications For Management and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ornamentals lead the way: global influences on plant invasions in the Caribbean

Rojas‐Sandoval¹,

Ackerman²

2021

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Understanding the historical factors associated with the invasion success of alien species in a region may help us to identify sources, vectors, and pathways that are more likely to originate new invaders. Here, we gather data for traits related to the history of introduction (e.g., continent of origin, reason for introduction, and date of introduction) of 616 alien plant species listed as invasive on 18 island groups across the Caribbean region. We used these data to evaluate how human activity has influenced plant invasions on Caribbean islands over time and whether invasion success could be driven by traits of the introduction process. We found that significantly more invasive plants (54%) were intentionally introduced for ornamental reasons than for any other purpose. Most invaders in the Caribbean are native to Asia, South America, and Africa and the cumulative number of invasive species in this region has been steadily increasing during the last 200 years, but since 1850, this trend has been led by species introduced as ornamentals. We also found a significant association between continent of origin and reason of introduction, with more invaders than expected being ornamentals from Asia and America, and forage species from Africa. Our results show that introduced ornamentals are successfully invading all major habitats across the Caribbean, exacerbating conservation issues and threatening native biodiversity. Armed with knowledge of origins and reasons for introductions, effective biosecurity actions as well as control and management strategies can be better targeted to address the problem of invasive species in the region.

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“…Human-mediated introductions of non-native species to islands may lead not only to increases in the number and distribution of species that may colonize islands but also to the displacement and/or extinction of native species. In this regard, human-related activities may lead to a breakdown of the "classical" biogeographic theory and may "redefine" species diversity on islands (Capinha et al, 2015;Blackburn et al, 2016;Rojas-Sandoval et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We intended to answer this question by first reviewing the literature on non-native species of vascular plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates that have been deliberately and/or accidentally introduced in EYNF, and then asking local experts to review the species list and identify and provide justification for those species that they considered to be currently behaving as invasive in EYNF. Based on previous studies showing that areas with higher anthropogenic disturbance often provide more opportunities for the introduction and establishment of nonnative and invasive species (Lockwood et al, 2009;Blackburn et al, 2016;Dawson et al, 2017;Rojas-Sandoval et al, 2020), we hypothesized that areas within the EYNF with long-standing continuous native forest would have fewer non-native and invasive species than areas subject to high levels of anthropogenic disturbance such as those in the lowlands and areas near roads and other historical land-use sites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive Species in Puerto Rico: The View From El Yunque

2021

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Native flora and fauna of Puerto Rico have a long biogeographic connection to South America. Theory and empirical evidence suggest that islands, particularly those distantly isolated from the mainland, should be more susceptible to naturalizations and invasions of non-native species than continental areas. Anthropogenic disturbances can facilitate accidental and deliberate introductions of non-native species. In this study, we asked: What is the current status of introduced species within El Yunque National Forest (EYNF), the largest and most well-conserved forest area of Puerto Rico? To address this question, we reviewed the literature and surveyed local experts to identify introduced plant and animal taxa that are behaving as invaders within EYNF. We hypothesized that well-conserved forest areas within EYNF would be more resistant to invasions than disturbed areas along roads and ruderal areas with a long history of human activity. We found that there is only partial evidence that supports our hypothesis and this evidence is strongest in vascular plants, but not for the other taxonomic groups analyzed. Our combined results showed that currently the more ubiquitous invasive species in EYNF include some mammals (feral cat, rat, and mongoose) and some invertebrates (earthworms, mosquito, and Africanized honeybee). For many taxa, there is little information to thoroughly test our hypothesis, and thus more detailed surveys of the status of non-native and invasive species in EYNF are needed.

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Island biogeography of native and alien plant species: Contrasting drivers of diversity across the Lesser Antilles

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 37 publications

References 85 publications

Soil fungal diversity and community assembly: affected by island size or type?

Soil fungal diversity and community assembly: affected by island size or type?

Ornamentals lead the way: global influences on plant invasions in the Caribbean

Invasive Species in Puerto Rico: The View From El Yunque

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