To create this research digest, we scan over two dozen ecology journals for papers on 1) invasive species present in New York State, or the Northeast region, 2) theoretical concepts or models which may have implications for management in New York State, or 3) economic, social, or ecological impacts of invasive species on a regional or global scale. The goal is to help managers and partners across the state of New York to more easily keep up to date on current research.
Several papers listed each month are open access, and anyone can view entire manuscripts. If an article you would like to read is not available through your institution, you can often contact lead or corresponding authors to receive a copy. If you are unable to obtain a paper this way, please contact us and we are happy to work with you to get you access.
In this month’s research digest: 24 papers from 15 journals
A clue to invasion success: genetic diversity quickly rebounds after introduction bottlenecks
Biological Invasions • One of the fundamental questions in invasion biology is to understand the genetic mechanisms behind success or failure during the establishment of a species. However, major limitations to understanding are usually a lack of spatiotemporal population data and information on the populations’ colonisat…
Pervasive and persistent effects of ant invasion and fragmentation on native ant assemblages
Ecology • Biological invasions are a leading cause of global change, yet their long‐term effects remain hard to predict. Invasive species can remain abundant for long periods of time, or exhibit population cra...
Sea freshening may drive the ecological impacts of emerging and existing invasive non‐native species
Diversity and Distributions • The spread of invasive non‐native species (INNS) will pose major threats to global biodiversity over the coming decades. However, predicting how key effects of climate change will influence the ...
Long-term invasion dynamics of Spartina increase vegetation diversity and geomorphological resistance of salt marshes against sea level rise
Biological Invasions • The cordgrass Spartina anglica C.E. Hubbard (Poaceae) is an invasive transformer in many salt marsh ecosystems worldwide. Relatively little is known about the capacity of Spartina to accelerate salt marsh succession and to protect salt marshes against sea level rise. We analyzed long-term changes in…
Spatial optimization of invasive species control informed by management practices
Ecological Applications • Optimization of spatial resource allocation is crucial for the successful control of invasive species under a limited budget but requires labor‐intensive surveys to estimate population parameters. In...
Review of dam effects on native and invasive crayfishes illustrates complex choices for conservation planning
Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution • Dams are among the most prevalent and extreme alterations humans have perpetrated on fluvial systems. The dramatic physical and biological changes caused by dams have been synthesized for many aquatic faunal groups, but not for crayfishes. In addition, invasive crayfish species are an increasing thr…
Residence time determines invasiveness and performance of garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) in North America
Ecology Letters • Using permanent long‐term monitoring locations, we document declines of Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) in eastern North America as a function of patch residence time. Projected site‐specific pop...
Industrial rearing of edible insects could be a major source of new biological invasions
Ecology Letters • The entomophagy industry has expanded, but without adequate regulatory practices. The reared species are often non‐native and fast growing, reared in centres without biosecurity protocols, and in are...
Ranking alien species based on their risks of causing environmental impacts: a global assessment of alien ungulates
Global Change Biology • For an efficient allocation of the limited resources to alien species management, the most damaging species should be prioritized. Comparing alien species based on their impacts is not straightforwar...
Geographical variation in germination traits of the salt-marsh cordgrass Spartina alterniflora in its invasive and native ranges
Journal of Plant Ecology • Germination is the earliest life-history transition of a plant species. It determines the ecological breadth and geographic ranges of a species an...
Non-native species surrounding protected areas influence the community of non-native species within them
Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution •
Protected areas (PAs) are a key element of global conservation strategies aiming to protect habitats and species from various threats such as non-natives species (NNS) with negative ecological impacts. Yet little is known about the mechanisms by which PAs are colonized by NNS, and more specifically …
Protected areas (PAs) are a key element of global conservation strategies aiming to protect habitats and species from various threats such as non-natives species (NNS) with negative ecological impacts. Yet little is known about the mechanisms by which PAs are colonized by NNS, and more specifically …
Uncovered pathways: Modelling dispersal dynamics of ship‐mediated marine introduced species
Journal of Applied Ecology • Marine traffic is the main vector for marine non‐indigenous species (NIS), that may hitchhike in ballast water tanks or attached to vessel hulls. Understanding marine traffic dynamics and estimati...
Rethinking biological invasions as a metacommunity problem
Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution • Perhaps more than any other ecological discipline, invasion biology has married the practices of basic science and the application of that science. The conceptual frameworks of population regulation, metapopulations, supply-side ecology, and community assembly have all to some degree informed the re…
Plant–soil feedbacks and the introduction of Castanea (chestnut) hybrids to eastern North American forests
Restoration Ecology • The reintroduction of disease‐resistant hybrids is a commonly proposed solution to the introduction of pathogens and pests that weaken or eliminate native plant species. Plant interactions with soil ...
Opinion: Biodiversity conservation during a global crisis: Consequences and the way forward
PNAS • The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the latest episode in a string of environment-borne human tragedies, catastrophic in its magnitude, reach, and repercussions. Understandably, the scientific literature has focused on the causes and consequences of the pandemic from an anthropocentr…
Honeysuckle leaf blight reduces the growth of infected Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii, Caprifoliaceae) seedlings in a greenhouse experiment
The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society • Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) is an important invasive plant species in the Ohio River Valley. Previous work has shown extensive dieback of honeysuckle in the region, coupled with the appearance of the native fungal pathogen, honeysuckle leaf blight...
Is biocontrol efficacy rather driven by the plant or the antagonist genotypes? A conceptual bioassay approach
Neobiota • In the new range, invasive species lack their specialist co-evolved natural enemies, which then might be used as biocontrol agents. Populations of both a plant invader in the introduced range and its potential biocontrol agents in the native range may be genetically differentiated among geographical…
Understanding Uncertainty in Broad-Scale Mapping of Historical Vegetation in the Great Lakes Region
Natural Areas Journal • In the Great Lakes Region, minor differences in soils and location (e.g., proximity to the Great Lakes) can lead to strong differences in vegetation; thus, the utility of broad-scale mapping often depends on capturing subtle landscape features and local processes.
Fate of Weed Seeds after Impact Mill Processing in Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic United States
Weed Science • Harvest weed seed control (HWSC) technology, such as impact mills that destroy weed seeds in seed-bearing chaff material during grain crop harvest, has been highly effective in Australian cropping systems. However, the impact mill has never
Improving the management of Japanese knotweed s.l.: a response to Jones and colleagues
Neobiota • In a recent paper, Jones et al. (2020a) claimed that we recommended the use of mowing for the “landscape management of invasive knotweeds” in an article we published earlier this year (i.e. Martin et al. 2020), a recommendation with which they strongly disagreed. Since we never made such a recommend…