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opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →

Data from: Naturalized plants decrease diet similarity between an invasive bird and its most similar native species

Although invasive animals can compete with native species for resources, detrimental competition for food is seldom reported in the avian invasions literature. In temperate climates, food limitation and energetic stress are higher during winter and, thus, winter diets might reveal competition that is not apparent during the rest of the year. We compared autumn and winter diets of the invasive common waxbill (Estrilda astrild) in northwest Iberia, and of the native bird most similar to it in foraging behaviour, the European serin (Serinus serinus). Both species forage for seeds in open habitats, mostly in or around agricultural areas. We found that food preferences of the two species were substantially different when foraging on the same agricultural landscape. Contrary to the prediction that food scarcity in winter would make diets more similar, the diets of waxbills and serins diverged in winter, indicating low potential for detrimental interspecific competition. Differences in diet were in part due to foraging on non-native plants. Non-native seeds represented a large part of the waxbill diet in autumn (a non-native grass), and a small part of serin's (a non-native forb), substantially decreasing their diet similarity. Our results are consistent with the view that waxbills are using vacant niches in human-modified habitats, in this case involving non-crop plants associated with agricultural practices (e.g. irrigation, tillage, harvest) that are underexploited by the native fauna. Understanding which invasive animals fill those vacant niches and, thus, may interfere minimally with native faunas, helps to prioritize conservation actions.

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →

Data from: Effect of plant root symbionts on performance of native woody species in competition with an invasive grass in multispecies microcosms

The majority of terrestrial plants form mutualistic associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and rhizobia (i.e. nitrogen fixing bacteria). Understanding these associations has important implications for ecological theory and for restoration practice. Here we tested whether the presence of AMF and rhizobia influence the performance of native woody plants invaded by a non-native grass in experimental microcosms. We planted eight plant species (i.e. Acacia acuminata, A. microbotrya, Eucalyptus loxophleba subsp. loxophleba, E. astringens, Calothamnus quadrifidus, Callistemon phoeniceus, Hakea lissocarpha and H. prostrata) in microcosms of field-conditioned soil with and without addition of AMF and rhizobia in a fully factorial experimental design. After seedling establishment, we seeded half the microcosms with an invasive grass Bromus diandrus. We measured shoot and root biomass of native plants and Bromus, and on roots, the percentage colonization by AMF, number of rhizobia-forming nodules and number of proteaceous root clusters. We found no effect of plant root symbionts or Bromus addition on performance of myrtaceous, and as predicted, proteaceous species as they rely little or not at all on AMF and rhiozbia. Soil treatments with AMF and rhiozbia had a strong positive effect (i.e. larger biomass) on native legumes (A. microbotrya and A. acuminata). However, the beneficial effect of root symbionts on legumes became negative (i.e. lower biomass and less nodules) if Bromus was present, especially for one legume, i.e. A. acuminata, suggesting a disruptive effect of the invader on the mutualism. We also found a stimulating effect of Bromus on root nodule production in A. microbotrya and AMF colonization in A. acuminata which could be indicative of legumes' increased resource acquisition requirement, i.e. for nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively, in response to the Bromus addition. We have demonstrated the importance of measuring belowground effects because the aboveground effects gave limited indication of the effects occuring belowground.

opencc-zeroJan 2022View details →

Prioritizing terrestrial invasive alien plant species for management in urban ecosystems

1. Invasive alien plant species (IAPs) in urban areas can have detrimental effects on biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being. Urban areas are complex social management mosaics with high land-use diversity, complex land tenure patterns, and many different stakeholder groups, some of which derive benefits from invading species. Urban conservation practitioners face complex decisions about which IAPs require management. Yet most IAPs prioritization frameworks have been designed for and implemented in natural or rural areas and are generally inadequate for guiding effective and sustainable interventions in urbanized areas. 2. We modified an existing prioritization scheme to develop a framework for prioritizing terrestrial IAPs in urban areas which applies evidence-based (data-driven) and stakeholder-based (local knowledge) assessments to score and rank alien plant species in terms of their priority for management using an objective set of criteria. 3. The framework consists of forty-six criteria, grouped into eight modules which assess invasion status, habitat requirements, biological characteristics, dispersal ability, distribution, impact (positive and negative), and potential for control for each alien plant species under consideration. 4. We use the city of Toronto, Canada as a case study to test our framework – a list of 50 IAPs were effectively scored and ranked in order of high to low priority for control. Species with the highest total prioritization scores were Vincetoxicum rossicum (Dog Strangling Vine), Convolvulus arvensis (Field Bindweed) and Taraxacum officinale (Common Dandelion) (ranked 1, 2 and 3, respectively). 5. Many of the identified high priority species align with the those previously flagged as of management concern by conservation practitioners, but also include those that are not actively managed due to their perceived lower ecological impacts. These species still require high resource investment for other objectives such as aesthetics. This highlights the complexity of alien plant species management in urban areas. 6. Synthesis and applications. Prioritizing invasive alien plants for management in urban areas is particularly challenging due to often conflicting ecological, economic, and social objectives. We use available evidence and local stakeholder knowledge to develop an objective and systematic prioritization tool which can assist conservation practitioners in selecting priority species for management action in complex urban landscapes.

opencc-zeroApr 2022View details →

Richness, not evenness, of invasive plant species promotes invasion success into native plant communities via selection effects

Native plant communities are often invaded by multiple alien species. It is still unclear how increasing diversity of alien invasive species suppresses the growth of native species and thus contributes to invasion success. In the subtropical monsoon region of Southeast China, we experimentally created a native plant community with 18 herbaceous species. One week later, we let it be invaded by either zero (controls without invasion), one, two, four or eight alien plant species, with either high or low species evenness. After a four-month growth period we harvested the aboveground biomass of each species. We found that increasing invasive species richness significantly increased invasive plant biomass, the biomass of all invasive and native plant species within the community, and invasion success (the ratio of invasive plant biomass to the biomass of all native and invasive plants), but it did not significantly reduce native plant biomass. Experimentally manipulating invasive species evenness did not influence invasion success and did not show any differential suppression effects on native plants. One invasive species, Sesbania cannabina, became dominant in terms of plant biomass, irrespective of its proportion in the alien plant mixtures. Throughout this experiment, effects of invasive species richness on invasion success were mainly due to such selection effects among the invasive species. On the other hand, the unchanged biomass of native species under increasing invasive plant richness suggests the presence of at least partly complementary resource niches between invasive and native species.

opencc-zeroAug 2022View details →

Supplementary material 2 from: Sirbu C, Miu IV, Gavrilidis AA, Gradinaru SR, Niculae IM, Preda C, Oprea A, Urziceanu M, Camen-Comanescu P, Nagoda E, Sirbu IM, Memedemin D, Anastasiu P (2022) Distribution and pathways of introduction of invasive alien plant species in Romania. NeoBiota 75: 1-21. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.75.84684

Appendix S2. Altitudinal range of invasive and potentially invasive alien plant species recorded in Romania

opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

Supplementary material 2 from: Piria M, Radočaj T, Vilizzi L, Britvec M (2022) Climate change may exacerbate the risk of invasiveness of non-native aquatic plants: the case of the Pannonian and Mediterranean regions of Croatia. In: Giannetto D, Piria M, Tarkan AS, Zięba G (Eds) Recent advancements in the risk screening of freshwater and terrestrial non-native species. NeoBiota 76: 25-52. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.76.83320

Combined AS-ISK report for the 24 non-native aquatic plant species screened for their potential risk of invasiveness in the Pannonian and Mediterranean regions of Croatia.

Supplementary material 4 from: Schiffleithner V, Essl F (2016) Is it worth the effort? Spread and management success of invasive alien plant species in a Central European National Park. NeoBiota 31: 43-61. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.31.8071

Table S2. Percentage and numbers of populations of the three study species : Explanation note: Percentage and numbers of populations of the three study species in the five size classes (1 = 0–10m², 2 = 10–100m², 3 = 100–1,000m², 4 = 1,000–10,000m², 5 = >10,000m²) in the National Park Thayatal-Podyjí in 2010. Density classes (according to Braun-Blanquet 1964) are provided for Fallopia × bohemica and Impatiens glandulifera.

Supplementary material 3 from: Schiffleithner V, Essl F (2016) Is it worth the effort? Spread and management success of invasive alien plant species in a Central European National Park. NeoBiota 31: 43-61. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.31.8071

Table S1. Populations of Fallopia × bohemica, Impatiens glandulifera and Robinia pseudoacacia in the Austrian part of the National Park Thayatal-Podyjí : Explanation note: Populations of Fallopia × bohemica, Impatiens glandulifera and Robinia pseudoacacia in the Austrian part of the National Park Thayatal-Podyjí, indicating population size, changes in population size between both surveys, and if management was applied.

Supplementary material 1 from: Schiffleithner V, Essl F (2016) Is it worth the effort? Spread and management success of invasive alien plant species in a Central European National Park. NeoBiota 31: 43-61. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.31.8071

Figure S1. Distribution of the three study species (Fallopia × bohemica, Impatiens glandulifera, Robinia pseudoacacia) in the National Park Thayatal-Podyjí in 2010 : Explanation note: Robinia pseudoacacia predominantly invades forests near settlements, Impatiens glandulifera the Thaya river valley, and Fallopia × bohemica occurs mostly near settlements close to streams.

Supplementary material 2 from: Schiffleithner V, Essl F (2016) Is it worth the effort? Spread and management success of invasive alien plant species in a Central European National Park. NeoBiota 31: 43-61. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.31.8071

Figure S2. Distribution of the three study species, Fallopia × bohemica, Impatiens glandulifera, and Robinia pseudoacacia in the Austrian part of the National Park Thayatal-Podyjí in 2001 :

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2015View details →

Supplementary material 3 from: Zimmermann H, Loos J, von Wehrden H, Fischer J (2015) Aliens in Transylvania: risk maps of invasive alien plant species in Central Romania. NeoBiota 24: 55-65. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.24.7772

Risk maps for all eight study species.: Explanation note: Risk maps for all eight study species derived from the MAXENT model.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2015View details →

Supplementary material 2 from: Zimmermann H, Loos J, von Wehrden H, Fischer J (2015) Aliens in Transylvania: risk maps of invasive alien plant species in Central Romania. NeoBiota 24: 55-65. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.24.7772

Check for sampling bias.: Explanation note: We checked our dataset for sampling bias, that is the distribution of presence points (N = 1484) at different road distances.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2015View details →

Supplementary material 1 from: Zimmermann H, Loos J, von Wehrden H, Fischer J (2015) Aliens in Transylvania: risk maps of invasive alien plant species in Central Romania. NeoBiota 24: 55-65. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.24.7772

Table of species localities.: Explanation note: Table of all species localities (latitude and longitude in decimal degrees, WGS 84).