Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Invasive Species Leave Behind Their Friends, Hindering Colonization
For invasive species leaving their home, they leave not only their predators but also the species that helped them thrive.
Arriving to a new range or location, invasive species lose not only their enemies but also their friends—those relationships that benefit colonization.
[...] "In this paper, we show that many introduced species leave not only their enemies but also their friends behind," says Prof. Angela Moles. "This might help to explain why so many invasions fail in their early stages—about 60% of introduced species fail to establish."
This is the first meta-study to quantitatively examine the "Missed Mutualist Hypothesis," the notion that invasive species leave behind their native mutualists—species whose relationships provide a net benefit to survival and reproduction. The Missed Mutualist Hypothesis is the overlooked parallel to the better tested and understood Enemy Release Hypothesis, which describes the advantage afforded to invasive species when they lose their native predators.
[...] By appreciating the Missed Mutualist Hypothesis, we can consider the species-species interactions of introduced populations, recognizing not only lost enemies but missed mutualists and thereby bolstering our biosecurity policy.
"For instance, the spread of introduced pines can be limited by a lack of fungi in the soil," says Prof. Moles. "Yet addition of fungi to help pine plantations grow is almost totally unmonitored worldwide.
More information: Angela T. Moles et al, Advancing the missed mutualist hypothesis, the under-appreciated twin of the enemy release hypothesis, Biology Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0220
'Non-native species aren't the boogie man.' Brown biologist calls for more balanced view
Awareness of non-native — often called "invasive" — species has vastly increased over the past half-century, to the point where anyone with a green conscience has heard of them and their negative impacts.
Less recognized are the benefits of non-native species — and according to Brown University biologist Dov Sax, that needs to change.
[...] "Positive impacts of non-native species are often explained as serendipitous surprises — the sort of thing that people might expect to happen every once in a while, in special circumstances," said Sax, a professor of environment and society, and of ecology, evolution and organismal biology. "Our new paper argues that the positive impacts of non-native species are neither unexpected nor rare, but instead common, important and often of large magnitude."
[...] As one example of a non-native species with underappreciated benefits, Sax cited the earthworm. While they can negatively change forest ecosystems, Sax said that earthworms can also augment organic agriculture: Some research has shown that when earthworms are present, there can be a 25% increase in agricultural productivity. The resulting decrease in food cost and increased ability to feed people is a direct economic benefit, Sax said.
[...] For example, non-native species can be a leading cause of species extinctions, but also contribute, through their own migration, to regional biodiversity; they can reduce certain ecosystem functions, such as water clarity, while increasing others, such as erosion control; they can provide new resources, such as recreational hunting and fishing opportunities.
[...] "We argue that long-standing biases against non-native species within the literature have clouded the scientific process and hampered policy advances and sound public understanding," they wrote. "Future research should consider both costs and benefits of non-native species."
Journal Reference:
Dov F. Sax, Martin A.Schlaepfer, and Julian D.Olden, Valuing the contributions of non-native species to people and nature, Trends Ecol Evol, 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.08.005
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Saturday October 29 2022, @02:17AM
Brazilian Pepper trees are an invasive species that have become common in at least Central Florida. They grow extremely fast in large stands and tend to choke out other trees. I'm sure this has a negative effect on many native species of both plants and animals. They do however seem to be extremely popular with bees, including both honey bees and numerous small native bees. At times of peak flowering there can be literally clouds of bees around them. They also produce small berries which at least some birds eat (helps explain their fast spread), but do they adequately replace previous food sources? Is this all good or bad? I can attest that the honey produced by bees concentrating on the trees is some of the strongest, most flavorful honey I've ever tasted.