香港东北角吉澳群岛入侵植物调查

什么样的生态系统容易入侵是入侵生态学关心的核心问题之一。最近,我们对香港东北角吉澳群岛中的鸦洲湾、小鸦洲、鸦洲、拦船排、虎王洲、娥眉洲、往湾洲、吉澳等8个岛屿上的所有外来植物及本土植物的种类、数量和盖度进行了调查,结果表明:具有高钙低硅土壤基质的鸦洲、小鸦洲、鸦洲湾等三个小岛上分布有大量外来入侵植物的种类和数量,而具有高硅低钙土壤基质的拦船排、虎王洲、娥眉洲、往湾洲等岛屿上外来植物的种类和数量稀少,吉澳岛虽然外来植物的种类多,但外来植物的个体数量少。分析说明:钙离子可能是影响外来植物的入侵能力或生态系统的可入侵性的关键因子。此外,文章还讨论及介绍了外来植物在石灰岩生境、盐碱地、海岸沙滩、温带广布的各种钙土、地中海气候影响下形成的干旱土等钙离子丰富的生态系统中入侵情况。     

Testing for local species saturation with nonindependent regional species pools

Identifying the factors controlling local community structure is a central problem in ecology. Ecologists frequently use regression to test for a nonlinear saturating relationship between local community richness and regional species pool richness, suggesting that species interactions limit the number of locally coexisting species. However, communities in different regions are not independent if regions share species. We present a Monte Carlo test for whether an observed local-regional richness relationship is significantly different from that expected when regions are nonindependent and species interactions do not limit community membership. We illustrate this test with data from experimental microcosm communities. A conventional F -test suggests a significant saturating relationship between realized community richness and species pool richness. However, the Monte Carlo test fails to reject the null hypothesis that species interactions do not affect community richness. Strong species interactions do not necessarily set an absolute upper limit to the number of locally coexisting species.     

The good with the bad: when ecological restoration facilitates native and non‐native species

Organisms interact with each other along a spectrum ranging from competition to facilitation. A theme in restoration ecology is tipping the balance of these interactions to favor desired species and site conditions, exemplified by restoring fertile islands and their nurse plant effects to encourage plant recruitment. We tested the effectiveness of outplanting nursery‐grown native perennials and vertical mulching (placing dead plant material upright in soil) for stimulating annual plant recruitment in a disturbed Mojave Desert shrubland in Joshua Tree National Park, California, U.S.A. Over 9 years, differences in annual species richness and cover between interspaces and below outplants and vertical mulch varied among years, potentially via inter‐annual fluctuations in precipitation or maturation of restoration sites. In the ninth year, which was the wettest, both native and non‐native cover averaged 3× higher below outplants than in interspaces. Overall among years at the microsite scale, non‐native annual plants more consistently exploited environments provided by outplants and vertical mulch structures than did native annuals. However, these restoration structures were important for native annual diversity. At the 40‐m² plot scale, disturbed plots that received outplanting supported greater richness of native annual species than disturbed unrestored plots. By facilitating both non‐native and native plants, reestablishing fertile islands to restore dryland ecosystems is a conundrum for restoration. Treatments reducing non‐native plants may need to accompany fertile island restoration to tip the balance of facilitative plant interactions in favor of native species.     

Habitat suitability modelling of an invasive plant with advanced remote sensing data

Aim  Lepidium latifolium (Brassicaceae; perennial pepperweed) is a noxious Eurasian weed invading riparian and wetland areas of the western USA. Understanding which sites are most susceptible to invasion by L. latifolium will allow more efficient management of this weed. We assessed the ability of advanced remote sensing techniques to develop habitat suitability models for L. latifolium .
Location  San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, California, USA.
Methods  Lepidium latifolium distribution was mapped with hyperspectral image data of Rush Ranch Open Space Preserve, providing presence/absence data to train and validate habitat models. A high-resolution light detection and ranging digital elevation model was used to derive predictor environmental variables (distance to channel, distance to upland, elevation, slope, aspect and convexity). Aggregate decision tree models were used to predict the potential distribution of this species.
Results  Lepidium latifolium infested two zones: near the marshland–upland margin and along channels within the marsh. Topographical data, which are typically strongly correlated with wetland species distributions, were relatively unimportant to L. latifolium occurrence, although relevant microtopography information, particularly relative elevation, was subsumed in the distance to channel variable. The map of potential L. latifolium distribution reveals that Rush Ranch contains considerable habitat that it is susceptible to continued invasion.
Main conclusions  Lepidium latifolium invades relatively less stressful sites along the inundation and salinity gradients. Advanced remote sensing datasets were shown to be sufficient for species distribution modelling. Remote sensing offers powerful tools that deserve wider use in ecological research and management.     

Across island and continents, mammals are more successful invaders than birds (Reply)

Aim  The establishment success of exotic species is calculated as the fraction of introduced species that have become established, and invasion success is estimated as the fraction of established species that have spread significantly from their points of introduction. Records on species introductions are highly incomplete, so strong conclusions about the tens rule and invasibility of island and continents cannot be drawn.
Location  Global.
Methods  Using Jeschke (2008) as an example, we explain the issue of the inadequacy of data to draw conclusions about the tens rule and invasibility of island and continents.
Results  Lack of adequate data.
Main Conclusion  Jeschke (2008) probably overestimates the establishment and invasion success rates, so his conclusions about violation of the tens rule and that islands are not more susceptible to invasion than continents are misleading.     

Competitive Control of an Exotic Mangrove Species: Restoration of Native Mangrove Forests by Altering Light Availability

Recently, many studies have focused on the possibility of restoring mangrove ecosystems by introducing fast‐growing mangroves. However, methods for managing an exotic fast‐growing species to restore mangrove ecosystems and at the same time preventing invasion by introduced species remains unclear. Sonneratia apetala Buch‐Ham is one example of an exotic mangrove with both high ecological value and potential risk for invasion after introduction. To investigate the possibility of reducing the potential for invasion by altering light availability, we simulated different irradiances of S. apetala understory in the greenhouse. For each irradiance treatment, three levels of competition between S. apetala and native mangroves Aegiceras corniculatum (L.) were used: no competition, intraspecific competition and interspecific competition. Compared with A. corniculatum, S. apetala showed a significantly higher growth rate for both height and biomass accumulation under full irradiation. Compared to the full irradiation treatment, the shading treatment significantly reduced the height, total biomass and biomass allocation to leaves of S. apetala by 61.31, 71.0, and 76.2%, respectively, whereas the growth of A. corniculatum was not affected. The results suggested that lowering light availability could inhibit the growth of S. apetala and increase the competitiveness of A. corniculatum. Planting introduced fast‐growing mangroves at a density of approximately 2,000 plants/hm² is an effective strategy for preventing potential invasion and restoring wetland habitats. By taking advantage of the differences in shade tolerance between fast‐growing exotic mangroves and native mangroves, introduction of fast‐growing mangroves in coastal areas could have huge potential for reforesting mangrove ecosystems.