Are invaders different? A conceptual framework of comparative approaches for assessing determinants of invasiveness.

What determines invasiveness of alien organisms is among the most interesting and urgent questions in ecology. In attempts to answer this question, researchers compare invasive alien species either to native species or to non-invasive alien species, and this is done in either the introduced or native ranges. However, inferences that can be drawn from these comparisons differ considerably, and failure to recognize this could hamper the search for determinants of invasiveness. To increase awareness about this issue, we present a framework of the various comparisons that can be used to test for determinants of invasiveness, and the specific questions each comparison can address. Moreover, we discuss how different comparisons complement each other, and therefore should be used in concert. For progress in invasion biology, it is crucial to realize that different comparisons address different biological questions and that some questions can only be answered unambiguously by combining them.

[1]  T. Hoffman.  Fifty Years of Invasion Ecology: The Legacy of Charles Elton , 2012 .

[2]  M. Fischer,et al.  A multi-species experiment in their native range indicates pre-adaptation of invasive alien plant species. , 2010, The New phytologist.

[3]  M. Fischer,et al.  A meta-analysis of trait differences between invasive and non-invasive plant species. , 2010, Ecology letters.

[4]  S. Díaz,et al.  Functional traits of alien plants across contrasting climatic and land‐use regimes: do aliens join the locals or try harder than them? , 2010 .

[5]  M. Leishman,et al.  Native and exotic invasive plants have fundamentally similar carbon capture strategies , 2010 .

[6]  T. Blackburn,et al.  The role of species traits in the establishment success of exotic birds , 2009 .

[7]  K. Tielbörger,et al.  Rethinking the common garden in invasion research. , 2009 .

[8]  S. L. Flory,et al.  Effects of roads and forest successional age on experimental plant invasions , 2009 .

[9]  David F. R. P. Burslem,et al.  Factors explaining alien plant invasion success in a tropical ecosystem differ at each stage of invasion , 2009 .

[10]  R. Tollrian,et al.  Inducible defences as key adaptations for the successful invasion of Daphnia lumholtzi in North America? , 2009, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[11]  X. Montaudouin,et al.  Testing the enemy release hypothesis: trematode parasites in the non-indigenous Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum , 2009, Hydrobiologia.

[12]  M. Fischer,et al.  Release from foliar and floral fungal pathogen species does not explain the geographic spread of naturalized North American plants in Europe , 2009 .

[13]  Patrick H. Martin,et al.  Why forests appear resistant to exotic plant invasions: intentional introductions, stand dynamics, and the role of shade tolerance , 2009 .

[14]  M. van Kleunen,et al.  Introduction history and species characteristics partly explain naturalization success of North American woody species in Europe , 2009 .

[15]  E. Larson,et al.  Does juvenile competition explain displacement of a native crayfish by an introduced crayfish? , 2009, Biological Invasions.

[16]  J. Jeschke,et al.  Invasion success and threat status: two sides of a different coin? , 2009 .

[17]  C. Nilsson,et al.  Reducing redundancy in invasion ecology by integrating hypotheses into a single theoretical framework , 2009 .

[18]  D. Burslem,et al.  Herbivory is related to taxonomic isolation, but not to invasiveness of tropical alien plants , 2009 .

[19]  R. Billeter,et al.  Phylogeography of native ploidy levels and invasive tetraploids of Solidago gigantea , 2008, Molecular ecology.

[20]  M. Leishman,et al.  Reproductive output of invasive versus native plants. , 2008 .

[21]  S. Keller,et al.  History, chance and adaptation during biological invasion: separating stochastic phenotypic evolution from response to selection. , 2008, Ecology letters.

[22]  Richard P Duncan,et al.  Darwin's naturalization conundrum: dissecting taxonomic patterns of species invasions. , 2008, Ecology letters.

[23]  M. Fischer,et al.  Adaptive rather than non-adaptive evolution of Mimulus guttatus in its invasive range. , 2008 .

[24]  Richard P Duncan,et al.  Strong human association with plant invasion success for Trifolium introductions to New Zealand , 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[25]  Wolfgang Nentwig,et al.  Grasping at the routes of biological invasions: a framework for integrating pathways into policy , 2008 .

[26]  Petr Pyšek,et al.  Fifty years of invasion ecology – the legacy of Charles Elton , 2008 .

[27]  D. Strayer,et al.  Are threat status and invasion success two sides of the same coin , 2008 .

[28]  B. Hänfling.  Understanding the establishment success of non-indigenous fishes: lessons from population genetics , 2007 .

[29]  C. Perrings,et al.  A century of the ornamental plant trade and its impact on invasion success , 2007 .

[30]  D. Richardson,et al.  Invasion biology and conservation biology: time to join forces to explore the links between species traits and extinction risk and invasiveness , 2007 .

[31]  M. Fischer,et al.  Predicting naturalization of southern African Iridaceae in other regions , 2007 .

[32]  M. Rejmánek,et al.  High seedling relative growth rate and specific leaf area are traits of invasive species: phylogenetically independent contrasts of woody angiosperms. , 2007, American journal of botany.

[33]  Hong Liu,et al.  Testing the enemy release hypothesis: a review and meta-analysis , 2006, Biological Invasions.

[34]  D. Strayer,et al.  Determinants of vertebrate invasion success in Europe and North America , 2006 .

[35]  M. Pigliucci,et al.  Jack of all trades, master of some? On the role of phenotypic plasticity in plant invasions. , 2006, Ecology letters.

[36]  P. Edwards,et al.  Recognition that causal processes change during plant invasion helps explain conflicts in evidence. , 2006, Ecology.

[37]  Campbell O. Webb,et al.  Exotic taxa less related to native species are more invasive. , 2006, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[38]  K. Schierenbeck,et al.  Hybridization as a stimulus for the evolution of invasiveness in plants? , 2006, Euphytica.

[39]  M. Pigliucci,et al.  Traits of invasives reconsidered: phenotypic comparisons of introduced invasive and introduced noninvasive plant species within two closely related clades. , 2006, American journal of botany.

[40]  M. Cadotte,et al.  Life‐history correlates of plant invasiveness at regional and continental scales , 2005 .

[41]  Lynn B. Martin,et al.  Responding to inflammatory challenges is less costly for a successful avian invader, the house sparrow (Passer domesticus), than its less-invasive congener , 2005, Oecologia.

[42]  T. Blackburn,et al.  The role of propagule pressure in explaining species invasions. , 2005, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[43]  D. Maehr,et al.  Alien Species and Evolution: The Evolutionary Ecology of Exotic Plants, Animals, Microbes and Interacting Native Species (review) , 2005 .

[44]  O. Bossdorf,et al.  Phenotypic and genetic differentiation between native and introduced plant populations , 2005, Oecologia.

[45]  R. Colautti.  Are characteristics of introduced salmonid fishes biased by propagule pressure , 2005 .

[46]  J. Maron,et al.  A biogeographical approach to plant invasions: the importance of studying exotics in their introduced and native range , 2005 .

[47]  Michelle R. Leishman,et al.  Experimental evidence for the effects of additional water, nutrients and physical disturbance on invasive plants in low fertility Hawkesbury Sandstone soils, Sydney, Australia , 2005 .

[48]  D. Sol,et al.  Global patterns of introduction effort and establishment success in birds , 2004, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[49]  H. MacIsaac,et al.  Is invasion success explained by the enemy release hypothesis , 2004 .

[50]  Nana Nehrbass.  Alien Species and Evolution: The Evolutionary Ecology of Exotic Plants, Animals, Microbes, and Interacting Native Species , 2004 .

[51]  D. Richardson,et al.  Predicting and explaining plant invasions through analysis of source area floras: some critical considerations , 2004 .

[52]  Michelle R. Leishman,et al.  Invasion success of exotic plants in natural ecosystems: the role of disturbance, plant attributes and freedom from herbivores , 2004 .

[53]  Robert I. Colautti,et al.  A neutral terminology to define ‘invasive’ species , 2004 .

[54]  M. Vilà,et al.  RAPID EVOLUTION OF AN INVASIVE PLANT , 2004 .

[55]  T. Blackburn,et al.  Mistakes in the analysis of exotic species establishment: source pool designation and correlates of introduction success among parrots (Aves: Psittaciformes) of the world , 2004 .

[56]  J. Denslow,et al.  NATURAL‐ENEMY RELEASE FACILITATES HABITAT EXPANSION OF THE INVASIVE TROPICAL SHRUB CLIDEMIA HIRTA , 2004 .

[57]  J. Chapman,et al.  Live Seafood Species as Recipes for Invasion , 2003 .

[58]  Y. Buckley,et al.  Are invasives bigger? a global study of seed size variation in two invasive shrubs , 2003 .

[59]  C. Mitchell,et al.  Release of invasive plants from fungal and viral pathogens , 2003, Nature.

[60]  A. Dobson,et al.  Introduced species and their missing parasites , 2003, Nature.

[61]  T. Blackburn,et al.  Establishment patterns of exotic birds are constrained by non‐random patterns in introduction , 2001 .

[62]  C. Kolar,et al.  Progress in invasion biology: predicting invaders. , 2001, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[63]  D. Simberloff,et al.  Are Plants Really Larger in Their Introduced Ranges? , 2001, The American Naturalist.

[64]  E. Aschehoug,et al.  Invasive plants versus their new and old neighbors: a mechanism for exotic invasion. , 2000, Science.

[65]  Mark A. Davis,et al.  Fluctuating resources in plant communities: a general theory of invasibility , 2000 .

[66]  C. J. West,et al.  Naturalization and invasion of alien plants: concepts and definitions , 2000 .

[67]  Richard N. Mack,et al.  Predicting the identity and fate of plant invaders: emergent and emerging approaches. , 1996 .

[68]  K. Thompson,et al.  Native and alien invasive plants: more of the same? , 1995 .

[69]  B. Blossey,et al.  Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability in Invasive Nonindigenous Plants: A Hypothesis , 1995 .

[70]  Michelle R. Leishman,et al.  On misinterpreting the phylogenetic correction , 1995 .

[71]  H. G. Baker,et al.  The Evolution of Weeds , 1974 .

[72]  Petr Pyšek,et al.  Traits Associated with Invasiveness in Alien Plants: Where Do we Stand? , 2008 .

[73]  J. H. Burns.  Demographic performance predicts invasiveness of species in the Commelinaceae under high-nutrient conditions. , 2008, Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America.

[74]  M. Daws,et al.  Do invasive species have bigger seeds? Evidence from intra- and inter-specific comparisons. , 2007 .

[75]  R. Huey,et al.  Using invasive species to study evolution. Case studies with Drosophila and salmon , 2005 .

[76]  James Xiao,et al.  Supporting Information , 2005 .

[77]  K. Lafferty,et al.  Release from Parasites as Natural Enemies: Increased Performance of a Globally Introduced Marine Crab , 2004, Biological Invasions.

[78]  Mikko Vähäsöyrinki,et al.  Introduced species and their missing parasites , 2003 .

[79]  Marcel Rejmánek,et al.  Invasive plant species and invasible ecosystems. , 1999 .

[80]  I. Kowarik,et al.  Time lags in biological invasions with regard to the success and failure of alien species. , 1995 .

[81]  P. Pyšek,et al.  Relating invasion success to plant traits: an analysis of the Czech alien flora. , 1995 .

[82]  P. Alpert,et al.  Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Invasiveness, Invasibility and the Role of Environmental Stress in the Spread of Non-native Plants , 2022 .