Five Potential Consequences of Climate Change for Invasive Species

• Published in: Conservation biology Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 534 - 543
• Main Authors: HELLMANN, JESSICA J, BYERS, JAMES E, BIERWAGEN, BRITTA G, DUKES, JEFFREY S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.06.2008; Blackwell Publishing, Inc; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Biological invasions; cambio climático; Climate; Climate change; Climate models; Conservation; Conservation biology; Conservation of Natural Resources; Demography; Ecological invasion; Ecosystems; Environmental agencies; Environmental conservation; Environmental management; Environmental Monitoring; especies invasoras; Greenhouse Effect; Human Activities; Hypothesis testing; invasion pathway; Invasive species; invasive-species management; manejo de especies invasoras; Marine ecology; Native species; Nonnative species; Special Section: A Synthesis of Climate-Change Effects on Aquatic Invasive Species; vía de invasión
• ISSN: 0888-8892; 1523-1739
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00951.x

Scientific and societal unknowns make it difficult to predict how global environmental changes such as climate change and biological invasions will affect ecological systems. In the long term, these changes may have interacting effects and compound the uncertainty associated with each individual driver. Nonetheless, invasive species are likely to respond in ways that should be qualitatively predictable, and some of these responses will be distinct from those of native counterparts. We used the stages of invasion known as the "invasion pathway" to identify 5 nonexclusive consequences of climate change for invasive species: (1) altered transport and introduction mechanisms, (2) establishment of new invasive species, (3) altered impact of existing invasive species, (4) altered distribution of existing invasive species, and (5) altered effectiveness of control strategies. We then used these consequences to identify testable hypotheses about the responses of invasive species to climate change and provide suggestions for invasive-species management plans. The 5 consequences also emphasize the need for enhanced environmental monitoring and expanded coordination among entities involved in invasive-species management.