While small-scale studies show that more diverse native communities are less invasible by exotics, studies at large spatial scales often find positive correlations between native and exotic diversity. This large-scale pattern is thought to arise because landscapes with favorable conditions for native species also have favorable conditions for exotic species. From theory, we proposed an alternat...

Landscape change has great, yet infrequently measured, potential to influence the susceptibility of natural systems to invasive species impacts. We quantified attack by an invasive biological control weevil (Rhinocyllus conicus) on native thistles in relation to two types of landscape change: agricultural intensification and invasion by an exotic thistle, Carduus nutans, the original target of ...

In coastal China, the exotic invasive Spartina alterniflora is preventing the establishment of native mangroves. The use of exotic species, control of exotic plant invasion, and restoration of native plant communities are timely research issues. We used exotic Sonneratia apetala Buch.-Ham and S. caseolaris (L.) Engl. to control invasive Spartina alterniflora Loisel through replacement control f...

At several locations in south Florida, water impounded by the leaf axils of native or exotic bromeliads was sampled for immature mosquitoes. Culex biscaynensis was the most commonly collected mosquito from exotic bromeliads at study sites in southeastern Miami-Dade County, whereas at nearby sites with native bromeliads, immature Wyeomyia mitchellii were more abundant than immature Culex biscayn...

At large spatial scales, exotic and native plant diversity exhibit a strong positive relationship. This may occur because exotic and native species respond similarly to processes that influence diversity over large geographical areas. To test this hypothesis, we compared exotic and native species-area relationships within six North American ecoregions. We predicted and found that within ecoregi...

The activity and spread of exotic earthworms often are spatially correlated with N deposition because both arise from human activities. Exotic earthworms, in turn, can also greatly affect soil abiotic and biotic properties, as well as related ecological processes. Previous studies showed, for example, that earthworms can counteract the detrimental effects of plant-feeding nematodes on plant gro...

A growing body of literature has led to the debate in invasion biology whether exotic species perform within communities differently than native taxa due to inherent advantages. To address this issue, the population dynamics of native and exotic plant species were assessed from a 48-year record of permanent plot data from the Hutcheson Memorial Forest Center (New Jersey, USA) to determine rate ...

John D. Parker and Mark E. Hay* School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332–0230, USA *Correspondence: E-mail: [email protected] Abstract In contrast to expectations of the enemy release hypothesis, but consistent with the notion of biotic resistance, we found that native generalist crayfishes preferred exotic over native freshwater plants by a 3 : 1 ratio wh...

The flammability of plant leaves influences the spread of fire through vegetation. Exotic plants invading native vegetation may increase the spread of bushfires if their leaves are more flammable than native leaves. We compared fresh-leaf and dry-leaf flammability (time to ignition) between 52 native and 27 exotic plant species inhabiting dry sclerophyll forest. We found that mean time to ignit...