Biotic interactions and plant invasions

AGRAWAL, A.; POWER, A.; MITCHELL, C.; BEVER, J.; GILBERT, G.; HUFBAUER, R. A.; KLIRONOMOS, J.; MARON, J.; MORRIS, W. F.; VÁZQUEZ, D. P.

Ecology Letters

Año: 2006 vol. 9 p. 726 - 740

Introduced plant populations lose interactions with enemies, mutualists and competitorsfrom their native ranges, and gain interactions with new species, under new abioticconditions. From a biogeographical perspective, differences in the assemblage ofinteracting species, as well as in abiotic conditions, may explain the demographic successof the introduced plant populations relative to conspecifics in their native range. Withininvaded communities, the new interactions and conditions experienced by the invadermay influence both its demographic success and its effects on native biodiversity. Here,we examine indirect effects involving enemies, mutualists and competitors of introducedplants, and effects of abiotic conditions on biotic interactions. We then synthesize ideasbuilding on Darwin’s idea that the kinds of new interactions gained by an introducedpopulation will depend on its relatedness to native populations. This yields a heuristicframework to explain how biotic interactions and abiotic conditions influence invadersuccess. We conclude that species introductions generally alter plants' interactions withenemies, mutualists and competitors, and that there is increasing evidence that thesealtered interactions jointly influence the success of introduced populations.