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Distinctiveness magnifies the impact of biological invaders in aquatic ecosystems
Article first published online: 2 AUG 2004
DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2004.00642.x
Additional Information
How to Cite
Ricciardi, A. and Atkinson, S. K. (2004), Distinctiveness magnifies the impact of biological invaders in aquatic ecosystems. Ecology Letters, 7: 781–784. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2004.00642.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 2 AUG 2004
- Article first published online: 2 AUG 2004
- Editor, Jonathan Chase Manuscript received 20 March 2004 First decision made 19 April 2004 Second dicision made 1 June 2004 Manuscript accepted 7 June 2004
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Keywords:
- Biological invasion;
- community ecology;
- exotic species;
- impact;
- introduced species;
- nonindigenous
Abstract
There exist few empirical rules for the effects of introduced species, reflecting the context-dependent nature of biological invasions. A promising approach toward developing generalizations is to explore hypotheses that incorporate characteristics of both the invader and the recipient system. We present the first general test of the hypothesis that an invader's impact is determined by the system's evolutionary experience with similar species. Through a meta-analysis, we compared the taxonomic distinctiveness of high- and low-impact invaders in several aquatic systems. We find that high-impact invaders (i.e. those that displace native species) are more likely to belong to genera not already present in the system.