Distributions of Invasive Arthropods across Heterogeneous Urban Landscapes in Southern California: Aridity as a Key Component of Ecological Resistance.

Weston Staubus,Savanah Bird,Savannah Meadors,Wallace Meyer

doi:10.3390/insects10010029

Abstract

Urban systems often support large numbers of non-native species, but due to the heterogeneity of urban landscapes, species are not evenly distributed. Understanding the drivers of ecological resistance in urban landscapes may help to identify habitats that are most resistant to invasion, and inform efforts to model and conserve native biodiversity. We used pitfall traps to survey non-native ground-dwelling arthropods in three adjacent, low-elevation habitat types in southern California: California sage scrub, non-native grassland, and suburban development. We found that non-native species were fewer and less widely distributed in the sage scrub and grassland habitats. Due to the proximity of our sites, differences in propagule pressure is an unlikely explanation. Instead, we suggest that the absence of water subsidies in the sage scrub and grassland habitats increases those habitats’ resistance to arthropod invasions. Comparisons to studies conducted at fragments closer to the coast provide further support for the relationship between aridity and invasibility in southern California. Our findings highlight that inland fragments are important for conserving native arthropod diversity, that models of non-native species distributions in arid and semi-arid urban systems should include aridity measures, and that reducing resource subsidies across the region is critical to mitigating spread of non-natives.

Highlights

Urban systems are among the most invaded worldwide [1,2]
Out of 253 arthropod species collected, we identified 20 (~ 8 %) that were definitively non-native (Figure 1)
Our findings suggest that characteristics of the habitats in the Biological Field Station (BFS) enable them to resist invasion by non-native arthropods in the surrounding suburban habitat

Summary

Introduction

Understanding coarse-scale patterns of invasion (e.g., what species are present in a metropolitan area) may not be informative to conservation practitioners working within an urban setting. Models of invasive species distribution often consider two primary factors: propagule pressure and ecological resistance [2,7]. High ecological resistance, the cumulative influence of ecosystem properties and processes that adversely affect the establishment, growth, and spread of introduced species [11] may reduce invasion success, even at the patch scale [12]. While propagule pressure is likely to be high throughout most urban systems due to anthropogenic dispersal, ecosystem characteristics may vary substantially, causing some areas to be much more resistant to invasion [13]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion