Effects of land-use change and related pressures on alien and native subsets of island communities.

ABSTRACT: Island species and habitats are particularly vulnerable to human disturbances, and anthropogenic changes are increasingly overwriting natural island biogeographic patterns. However, quantitative comparisons of how native and alien assemblages respond to human disturbances are scarce. Using data from 6,242 species of vertebrates, invertebrates and plants, from 7,718 sites on 81 islands, we model how land-use change, human population density and distance to the nearest road affect local assemblages of alien and native species on islands. We found that land-use change reduces both richness and abundance of native species, whereas the number and abundance of alien species are high in plantation forests and agricultural or urban sites. In contrast to the long-established pattern for native spec

SUBMITTER: Sanchez-Ortiz K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7714193 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature