Assessing introduction risk using species' rank-abundance distributions.

ABSTRACT: Mixed-species assemblages are often unintentionally introduced into new ecosystems. Analysing how assemblage structure varies during transport may provide insights into how introduction risk changes before propagules are released. Characterization of introduction risk is typically based on assessments of colonization pressure (CP, the number of species transported) and total propagule pressure (total PP, the total abundance of propagules released) associated with an invasion vector. Generally, invasion potential following introduction increases with greater CP or total PP. Here, we extend these assessments using rank-abundance distributions to examine how CP : total PP relationships change temporally in ballast water of ocean-going ships. Rank-abundance distributions and CP : total PP patt

SUBMITTER: Chan FT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4286051 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature