Modification of habitat quality by non-native species

JORGE LUIS CEFERINO GUTIERREZ

Impact of Biological Invasions on Ecosystem Services

Springer

Año: 2017; p. 33 - 47

Non-nativespecies can affect the quality of habitats available to other organisms and, inturn, the ecosystem services they provide or regulate. While much research todate has focused on the impacts of non-native species on habitats, the linksbetween habitat impacts and the provision or modulation of ecosystem serviceshave remained elusive. In this review, I first illustrate two general kinds ofnon-native species impact on the abiotic conditions and resources available ina habitat: (1) assimilatory-dissimilatory impacts due to the uptake and releaseof energy and materials and (2) physical ecosystem engineering impacts that arisefrom structural modification of environments due to species presence and/oractivities. Additionally, I further distinguish between physical ecosystemengineering impacts that result from the creation or modification of physicalstructures per se (e.g., effects on living space) and those that occur due tothe interactions of physical structures and different forms of kinetic energy,such as heat or fluid flows (e.g., wind attenuation by trees). Then, Iexemplify the co-occurrence of multiple impact pathways and their oftencompound impacts on single habitat attributes. Last, I briefly focus on thehabitat-mediated impacts of non-native species on food and raw materials,climate, and tourism and recreation as examples of cascading impacts onprovisioning, regulating, and cultural services, respectively.