Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Disentangling The Abundance–Impact Relationship For Invasive Species, Bethany A. Bradley, Brittany B. Laginhas, Raj Whitlock, Jenica M. Allen, Amanda E. Bates, Genevieve Bernatchez, Jeffrey M. Diez, Regan Early, Jonathan Lenoir, Montserrat Vilà, Cascade J.B. Sorte

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

To predict the threat of biological invasions to native species, it is critical that we understand how increasing abundance of invasive alien species (IAS) affects native populations and communities. The form of this relationship across taxa and ecosystems is unknown, but is expected to depend strongly on the trophic position of the IAS relative to the native species. Using a global metaanalysis based on 1,258 empirical studies presented in 201 scientific publications, we assessed the shape, direction, and strength of native responses to increasing invader abundance. We also tested how native responses varied with relative trophic position and for responses …