Ecological correlates of species’ roles in highly invaded seed dispersal networks

Ecosystems with a mix of native and introduced species are increasing globally as extinction and introduction rates rise, resulting in novel species interactions. While species interactions are highly vulnerable to disturbance, little is known about the roles that introduced species play in novel in...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 118; no. 4; pp. 1 - 8
Main Authors Vizentin-Bugoni, Jeferson, Sperry, Jinelle H., Kelley, J. Patrick, Gleditsch, Jason M., Foster, Jeffrey T., Drake, Donald R., Hruska, Amy M., Wilcox, Rebecca C., Case, Samuel B., Tarwater, Corey E.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 26.01.2021
SeriesFrom the Cover
Subjects
Biological Sciences
Correlation
Dispersion
Ecological function
Ecology
Ecosystems
Herbivores
Indigenous species
Introduced species
Morphology
Networks
Niches
Seed dispersal
Threatened species
Trophic levels
Hawaii
mutualisms
ecological restoration
plant-animal interactions
novel ecosystems
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Summary:Ecosystems with a mix of native and introduced species are increasing globally as extinction and introduction rates rise, resulting in novel species interactions. While species interactions are highly vulnerable to disturbance, little is known about the roles that introduced species play in novel interaction networks and what processes underlie such roles. Studying one of the most extreme cases of human-modified ecosystems, the island of Oʻahu, Hawaii, we show that introduced species there shape the structure of seed dispersal networks to a greater extent than native species. Although both neutral and niche-based processes influenced network structure, niche-based processes played a larger role, despite theory predicting neutral processes to be predominantly important for islands. In fact, ecological correlates of species’ roles (morphology, behavior, abundance) were largely similar to those in native-dominated networks. However, the most important ecological correlates varied with spatial scale and trophic level, highlighting the importance of examining these factors separately to unravel processes determining species contributions to network structure. Although introduced species integrate into interaction networks more deeply than previously thought, by examining the mechanistic basis of species’ roles we can use traits to identify species that can be removed from (or added to) a system to improve crucial ecosystem functions, such as seed dispersal.
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Edited by Alan Hastings, University of California, Davis, CA, and approved November 18, 2020 (received for review May 13, 2020)
2Present address: Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011.
Author contributions: J.V.-B., J.H.S., J.P.K., J.M.G., J.T.F., D.R.D., A.M.H., R.C.W., S.B.C., and C.E.T. designed research; J.V.-B., J.H.S., J.P.K., J.M.G., J.T.F., D.R.D., A.M.H., R.C.W., S.B.C., and C.E.T. performed research; J.V.-B. and J.T.F. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; J.V.-B. and J.M.G. analyzed data; and J.V.-B., J.H.S., J.M.G., and C.E.T. wrote the paper.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.2009532118