Demographic amplification is a predictor of invasiveness among plants

Kim Jelbert, Danielle Buss, Jenni McDonald, Stuart Townley, Miguel Franco, Iain Stott, Owen Jones, Roberto Salguero-Gómez, Yvonne Buckley, Tiffany Knight, Matthew Silk, Francesca Sargent, Simon Rolph, Phil Wilson and Dave Hodgson ()
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Kim Jelbert: University of Exeter
Danielle Buss: University of Exeter
Jenni McDonald: University of Exeter
Stuart Townley: University of Exeter
Miguel Franco: Plymouth University
Iain Stott: University of Lincoln
Owen Jones: University of Southern Denmark
Roberto Salguero-Gómez: University of Oxford, Department of Zoology
Yvonne Buckley: The University of Dublin
Tiffany Knight: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Matthew Silk: University of Exeter
Francesca Sargent: University of Exeter
Simon Rolph: University of Exeter
Phil Wilson: University of Exeter
Dave Hodgson: University of Exeter

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract Invasive plant species threaten native biodiversity, ecosystems, agriculture, industry and human health worldwide, lending urgency to the search for predictors of plant invasiveness outside native ranges. There is much conflicting evidence about which plant characteristics best predict invasiveness. Here we use a global demographic survey for over 500 plant species to show that populations of invasive plants have better potential to recover from disturbance than non-invasives, even when measured in the native range. Invasives have high stable population growth rates in their invaded ranges, but this metric cannot be predicted based on measurements in the native ranges. Recovery from demographic disturbance is a measure of transient population amplification, linked to high levels of reproduction, and shows phylogenetic signal. Our results demonstrate that transient population dynamics and reproductive capacity can help to predict invasiveness across the plant kingdom, and should guide international policy on trade and movement of plants.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13556-w

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