It is commonly accepted that introduced species have recruitment advantages over native species. However, this idea has not been widely tested, and those studies that have compared survival of introduced and native species have produced mixed results. We compiled data from the literature on survival through germination (seed to seedling survival), early seedling survival (survival through one w...

Predation by exotic species has caused the extinction of many native animal species on islands, whereas competition from exotic plants has caused few native plant extinctions. Exotic plant addition to islands is highly nonrandom, with an almost perfect 1 to 1 match between the number of naturalized and native plant species on oceanic islands. Here, we evaluate several alternative implications o...

Strong competition from invasive plant species often leads to declines in abundances and may, in certain cases, cause localized extinctions of native plant species. Nevertheless, studies have shown that certain populations of native plant species can co-exist with invasive plant species,suggesting the possibility of adaptive evolutionary responses of those populations to the invasive plants. Em...

Resource competition is one potential behavioral mechanism by which invasive species can impact native species, but detecting this competition can be difficult due to the interactions that variable environmental conditions can have on species behavior. This is particularly the case in urban habitats where the disturbed environment can alter natural behavior from that in undisturbed habitats. Th...

Mycosphaerella species are well-known causal agents of leaf diseases on many economically and ecologically important plant species. In Uruguay, a relatively large number of Mycosphaerellaceae and Teratosphaeriaceae are found on Eucalyptus, but nothing is known of these fungi on native Myrtaceae. The aim of this study was to identify Mycosphaerellaceae and Teratosphaeriaceae species associated w...

Understanding the relationships between Coffea arabica L. and the native tree community of secondary forests regrowing after the abandonment of coffee plantations is important because, as a non-native species in the Neotropics, coffee can outcompete native species, reducing diversity and forests ecosystem services. We aimed to answer three questions: 1) Does coffee regeneration in secondary for...

Abstract The preference for native species, along with its concomitant antipathy toward non-natives, has been increasingly criticized as incoherent, obsolete, xenophobic, misanthropic, uncompassionate, and antithetical to conservation. This essay explores these criticisms. It articulates an ecological conception of nativeness that distinguishes non-native species both from human-introduced inva...

Widespread replacement of native ecosystems by productive land sometimes results in the outbreak of a native species. In New Zealand, the introduction of exotic pastoral plants has resulted in diet alteration of the native coleopteran species, Costelytra zealandica (White) (Scarabaeidae) such that this insect has reached the status of pest. In contrast, C. brunneum (Broun), a congeneric species...

BACKGROUND Entomophilous non-native plants can directly affect the pollination and reproductive success of native plant species and also indirectly, by altering the composition and abundance of floral resources in the invaded community. Separating direct from indirect effects is critical for understanding the mechanisms underlying the impacts of non-native species on recipient communities. OB...