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. 2003 Mar 4;100(5):2474-7.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.0437913100. Epub 2003 Feb 25.

Community disassembly by an invasive species

Nathan J Sanders  1 , Nicholas J Gotelli, Nicole E Heller, Deborah M Gordon
Affiliations

Community disassembly by an invasive species

Nathan J Sanders et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Invasive species pose serious threats to community structure and ecosystem function worldwide. The impacts of invasive species can be more pervasive than simple reduction of species numbers. By using 7 years of data in a biological preserve in northern California, we documented the disassembly of native ant communities during an invasion by the Argentine ant. In sites without the Argentine ant, native ant communities exhibit significant species segregation, consistent with competitive dynamics. In sites with the Argentine ant, native ant communities appear random or weakly aggregated in species co-occurrence. Comparisons of the same sites before and after invasion indicate that the shift from a structured to a random community is rapid and occurs within a year of invasion. Our results show that invasive species not only reduce biodiversity but rapidly disassemble communities and, as a result, alter community organization among the species that persist.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A comparison of native ant community organization in intact sample plots and sample plots invaded by L. humile. The standardized C-score is a measure of the extent to which species co-occur less frequently than expected by chance. Larger C-scores indicate less co-occurrence than in randomly assembled communities. The dotted lines represent 1.96 standard deviations, the approximate level of statistical significance (P < 0.05). *, Statistical differences in co-occurrence patterns of intact and invaded plots sampled during the same sampling period (partition test, P < 0.05). Paired symbols indicate invaded and intact plots sampled during the same survey. ●, Invaded plots; ○, uninvaded plots.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A comparison of native ant community organization in sample plots immediately before and after invasion by L. humile. Paired symbols indicate the same plots sampled before and 1 year after invasion. ●, Plots sampled in the presence of L. humile; ○, the same plot sampled before invasion. Other symbols as in Fig. 1.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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