10.5061/DRYAD.PR686
Crandall, Raelene M.
University of Florida
University of Missouri
Knight, Tiffany M.
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research
Data from: Role of multiple invasion mechanisms and their interaction in
regulating the population dynamics of an exotic tree
Dryad
dataset
2017
integral projection model
biotic resistance hypothesis
Ailanthus altissima
Enemy Release Hypothesis
National Science Foundation
https://ror.org/021nxhr62
DEB 1145274
2017-11-01T21:09:21Z
2017-11-01T21:09:21Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13020
59882 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Understanding the mechanisms that allow exotic species to have rapid
population growth is an important step in the process of controlling
existing invasions and preventing future invasions. Several hypotheses
have been proposed to explain why some exotic species become invasive, the
most prominent of which focus on the roles of habitat disturbance,
competitors and consumers. The magnitude and direction of each of these
mechanisms on population dynamics observed in previous studies is quite
variable. It is possible that some of this variation results from
interactions between mechanisms. We examined all of these mechanisms and
their interactions on the population dynamics of the Asian exotic tree
Ailanthus altissima (Simaroubaceae) in fire-suppressed oak-hickory forests
in Missouri, USA. We experimentally reduced herbivory (using insecticide),
reduced interspecific competition (plant removals), and manipulated
disturbance with prescribed fire. We projected the effects of these
treatments and their interactions on population dynamics by parameterizing
an integral projection model. The lowest population growth rate is found
where fire is absent and biotic interactions are present. Fire increased
population growth rate, likely through the suppression of interspecific
competitors, since competitor removal treatments increased population
growth rate in the absence but not presence of fire. These results
indicate that biotic resistance from interspecific competitors, more so
than consumers, is important for slowing the invasion of A. altissima.
Furthermore, disturbances that weaken biotic interactions, such as fire,
should be used with caution when restoring habitats invaded by A.
altissima. Synthesis and applications. Examining the main and interactive
effects of disturbance, competition and herbivory on the population
dynamics of exotic species provides a comprehensive understanding of the
role of these factors in the invasion process and provides guidance for
exotic species management.
Ailanthus altissima demography dataData file includes stage
(NRA=nonreproductive adult; RA=reproductive adult; SDL= seedling) size
(total diameter (cm) of all stems/individual at 0.5 cm aboveground),
survival, and fecundity for Ailanthus altissima during 2012 and 2013.
Sites were located on the Tyson Research Center near St. Louis, MO.
Treatments are controls, competitor removal, and herbivore removal. Plots
with these treatments were either burned or unburned during the dormant
season of 2013.Crandall and Knight_Ailanthus for Dryad.csv
MO
USA
near St Louis
Tyson Research Center