Devenish, Adam JM;
Newton, Rosemary J;
Midgely, Jeremy J;
Colville, Louise;
Bridle, Jon;
Sumner, Seirian;
(2025)
Mutualistic interactions facilitate invasive species spread.
Functional Ecology
, 39
(1)
pp. 254-267.
10.1111/1365-2435.14688.
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Abstract
1. Invasive species are major drivers of global ecosystem change. They often displace native species through competitive exclusion, creating novel species interactions. These interactions can lead to ecological cascades, where the presence of one invasive species enhances the fitness of another. Despite this, the mechanisms that underpin these mutualistic interactions and promote secondary invasions remain poorly understood. 2. We assessed how the introduction of the invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) alters mutualistic interactions within the recipient community, enhancing the dispersal and fitness of species of a secondary invasive plant genus (Acacia spp.). Our study examines these interactions at the community, individual species, and trait levels for a range of native and non-native ant and plant species. Specifically, we aimed to investigate the direct and indirect effects of L. humile on seed dispersal mutualisms. 3. We found that in L. humile invaded locations, seeds of the invasive Acacia plant species were approximately three times more likely to be dispersed than seeds of native endemic plant species. This preference is driven by indirect changes in the community structure of native seed-dispersing ants, rather than direct interactions between the invasive ant and plant species. Moreover, we found that native ant species that co-exist with L. humile, such as Tetramorium sericeiventre, respond to a narrower range of seed traits—traits which the invasive Acacia seeds possess. 4. Our findings suggest that the invasion of L. humile has cascading effects on antplant mutualisms, potentially increasing community permeability to secondary invasions. These results highlight that the impact of invaders like the Argentine ant may be greater than initially perceived, driving losses in both biological and functional plant diversity.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Mutualistic interactions facilitate invasive species spread |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1111/1365-2435.14688 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14688 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2024 The Author(s). Functional Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Acacia, invasive species, Linepithema humile, mutualisms, plant–animal interactions, seed dispersal |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10198258 |
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