Population, community and ecosystem effects of exotic herbivores: A growing global concern

    Authors

    M. A. Nunez; J. K. Bailey;J. A. Schweitzer

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Biol. Invasions

    Keywords

    Ecosystem ecology; Exotic species; Introduced herbivores; Invasional; meltdown; PLANT INVASIONS; Biodiversity Conservation; Ecology

    Abstract

    Exotic herbivores represent a serious threat to native biodiversity, producing large scale changes in native communities and altering ecosystem processes. In this special issue, we present a series of case studies and reviews from different areas of the world that highlight (1) the consequences of herbivore introductions are a global problem; (2) they can result in wholesale shifts in the distribution of dominant plants on the landscape and; (3) the effects of herbivore introductions extend from the population to the community and ecosystem level. These studies suggest that introduced herbivores often retard ecosystem recovery after disturbance, facilitate invasion of plant species and can act as selective agents on native plant communities. These studies also suggest that several topics, including facilitation between exotic herbivores and exotic plants and animals (i.e., invasional meltdown) and the effect of exotic herbivores on ecosystem processes, require more research attention. Overall the papers in this special feature suggest that introduced herbivores are a global problem with wide-ranging ecological and evolutionary effects.

    Journal Title

    Biological Invasions

    Volume

    12

    Issue/Number

    2

    Publication Date

    1-1-2010

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    297

    Last Page

    301

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000273588100001

    ISSN

    1387-3547

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