The role of life history traits in mammalian invasion success

Capellini, Isabella; Baker, Joanna; Allen, William L.; Street, Sally E.; Venditti, Chris

Abstract

Why some organisms become invasive when introduced into novel regions while others fail to even establish is a fundamental question in ecology. Barriers to success are expected to filter species at each stage along the invasion pathway. No study to date, however, has investigated how species traits associate with success from introduction to spread at a large spatial scale in any group. Using the largest data set of mammalian introductions at the global scale and recently developed phylogenetic comparative methods, we show that human-mediated introductions considerably bias which species have the opportunity to become invasive, as highly productive mammals with longer reproductive lifespans are far more likely to be introduced. Subsequently, greater reproductive output and higher introduction effort are associated with success at both the establishment and spread stages. High productivity thus supports population growth and invasion success, with barriers at each invasion stage filtering species with progressively greater fecundity.

Citation

Capellini, I., Baker, J., Allen, W. L., Street, S. E., & Venditti, C. (2015). The role of life history traits in mammalian invasion success. Ecology letters, 18(10), 1099-1107. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12493

• Acceptance Date: Jul 23, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Aug 21, 2015
• Publication Date: 2015-10
• Deposit Date: Sep 16, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 23, 2017
• Journal: Ecology letters
• Print ISSN: 1461-023X
• Electronic ISSN: 1461-0248
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 10
• Pages: 1099-1107
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12493
• Keywords: Alien species; Biological invasions; Colonisation success; Demography; Invasion pathway; Life history theory; Mammals; Phylogeny; Propagule pressure; Range expansion
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/379119
• Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.12493/abstract
• Additional Information: Copy of article first published in: Ecology letters, 2015, v.18, issue 10.