A systematic review of arthropod community diversity in association with invasive plants

By

Spafford, Ryan
Lortie, Christopher
Butterfield, Bradley

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2013

Original Publication

NeoBiota : advancing research on alien species and biological invasions

Volume

16

Pages

81-102

Subjects

arthropod , biogeographic contrast , invasive plant , multi-trophic interactions , phylogenetic differences

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sophia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.16.4190

 

Abstract

Invasive plants represent a significant financial burden for land managers and also have the potential to severely degrade ecosystems. Arthropods interact strongly with plants, relying on them for food, shelter, and as nurseries for their young. For these reasons, the impacts of plant invasions are likely strongly reflected by arthropod community dynamics including diversity and abundances. A systematic review was conducted to ascertain the state of the literature with respect to plant invaders and their associated arthropod communities. We found that the majority of studies did not biogeographically contrast arthropod community dynamics from both the home and away ranges and that studies were typically narrow in scope, focusing only on the herbivore feeding guild, rather than assessing two or more trophic levels. Importantly, relative arthropod richness was significantly reduced on invasive plant species. Phylogenetic differences between the invasive and local plant community as well as the plant functional group impact arthropod diversity patterns. A framework highlighting some interaction mechanisms between multiple arthropod trophic levels and native and invasive plants is discussed and future research directions relating to these interactions and the findings herein are proposed.