Ecological impacts of alien species: quantification, scope, caveats, and recommendations

Kumschick, Sabrina; Gaertner, Mirijam; Vilà, Montserrat; Essl, Franz; Jeschke, Jonathan M.; Pyšek, Petr; Ricciardi, Anthony; Bacher, Sven; Blackburn, Tim M.; Dick, Jaimie T. A.; Evans, Thomas; Hulme, Philip E.; Kühn, Ingolf; Mrugała, Agata; Pergl, Jan; Rabitsch, Wolfgang; Richardson, David M.; Sendek, Agnieszka; Winter, Marten

doi:10.1093/biosci/biu193

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Journal article

Ecological impacts of alien species: quantification, scope, caveats, and recommendations

Kumschick, Sabrina Centre for Invasion Biology, in the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University, in Matieland, South Africa
Gaertner, Mirijam Centre for Invasion Biology, in the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University, in Matieland, South Africa
Vilà, Montserrat Estación Biológica de Doñana, in Seville, Spain
Essl, Franz Department of Conservation Biology, Vegetation and Landscape Ecology at the University of Vienna, Austria
Jeschke, Jonathan M. Technische Universität München's Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Restoration Ecology, in Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany
Pyšek, Petr Department of Ecology, in the Faculty of Science of Charles University in Prague
Ricciardi, Anthony Redpath Museum, at McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Bacher, Sven Department of Biology, in the Unit Ecology and Evolution at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Blackburn, Tim M. Institute of Zoology of the Zoological Society of London, United Kingdom - Evironment Institute, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Dick, Jaimie T. A. Institute for Global Food Security, in the School of Biological Sciences at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Evans, Thomas Thomas Evans is affiliated with Imperial College London's Silwood Park Campus, in Berkshire, United Kingdom
Hulme, Philip E. Bio-Protection Research Centre, at Lincoln University, in Christchurch, New Zealand
Kühn, Ingolf Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research's Department of Community Ecology - Martin-Luther-University Halle–Wittenberg's Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, in Halle, Germany
Mrugała, Agata Department of Ecology, in the Faculty of Science of Charles University in Prague
Pergl, Jan Department of Invasion Ecology, in the Institute of Botany at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, in Průhonice
Rabitsch, Wolfgang Environment Agency Austria's Department of Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, Vienna, Austria
Richardson, David M. Centre for Invasion Biology, in the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University, in Matieland, South Africa
Sendek, Agnieszka German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Winter, Marten German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

01.01.2015

Published in:

BioScience. - 2015, vol. 65, no. 1, p. 55-63

English Despite intensive research during the past decade on the effects of alien species, invasion science still lacks the capacity to accurately predict the impacts of those species and, therefore, to provide timely advice to managers on where limited resources should be allocated. This capacity has been limited partly by the context-dependent nature of ecological impacts, research highly skewed toward certain taxa and habitat types, and the lack of standardized methods for detecting and quantifying impacts. We review different strategies, including specific experimental and observational approaches, for detecting and quantifying the ecological impacts of alien species. These include a four-way experimental plot design for comparing impact studies of different organisms. Furthermore, we identify hypothesis-driven parameters that should be measured at invaded sites to maximize insights into the nature of the impact. We also present strategies for recognizing high-impact species. Our recommendations provide a foundation for developing systematic quantitative measurements to allow comparisons of impacts across alien species, sites, and time.

Faculty

Faculté des sciences et de médecine

Department

Département de Biologie

Language