Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Functional Group Change Within And Across Scales Following Invasions And Extinctions In The Everglades Ecosystem, Elizabeth A. Forys, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Cross-scale resilience theory predicts that the combination of functional diversity within scales and functional redundancy across scales is an important attribute of ecosystems because it helps these systems resist minor ecological disruptions and regenerate after major disturbances such as hurricanes and fire. Using the vertebrate fauna of south Florida, we quantified how the loss of native species and invasion by nonnatives may alter functional group richness within and across scales. We found that despite large changes in species composition due to potential extinctions and successful invasions by nonnative species, functional group richness will not change significantly within scales, there will …