Reduced vertebrate diversity independent of spatial scale following feral swine invasions.

ABSTRACT: Biological invasions often have contrasting consequences with reports of invasions decreasing diversity at small scales and facilitating diversity at large scales. Thus, previous literature has concluded that invasions have a fundamental spatial scale-dependent relationship with diversity. Whether the scale-dependent effects apply to vertebrate invaders is questionable because studies consistently report that vertebrate invasions produce different outcomes than plant or invertebrate invasions. Namely, vertebrate invasions generally have a larger effect size on species richness and vertebrate invaders commonly cause extinction, whereas extinctions are rare following invertebrate or plant invasions. In an agroecosystem invaded by a non-native ungulate (i.e., feral swine, Sus scrofa),

SUBMITTER: Ivey MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6635915 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature