Species richness and interacting factors control invasibility of a marine community.

ABSTRACT: Anthropogenic vectors have moved marine species around the world leading to increased invasions and expanded species' ranges. The biotic resistance hypothesis of Elton (in The ecology of invasions by animals and plants, 1958) predicts that more diverse communities should have greater resistance to invasions, but experiments have been equivocal. We hypothesized that species richness interacts with other factors to determine experimental outcomes. We manipulated species richness, species composition (native and introduced) and availability of bare space in invertebrate assemblages in a marina in Monterey, CA. Increased species richness significantly interacted with both initial cover of native species and of all organisms to collectively decrease recruitment. Although native species decrease

SUBMITTER: Marraffini ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4528507 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature