Abstract
As impacts of introduced species cascade through trophic levels, they can cause indirect and counter-intuitive effects. To investigate the impact of invasive species at the network scale, we use a generalized food web model, capable of propagating changes through networks with a series of ecologically realistic criteria. Using data from a small British offshore island, we quantify the impacts of four virtual invasive species (an insectivore, a herbivore, a carnivore and an omnivore whose diet is based on a rat) and explore which clusters of species react in similar ways. We find that the predictions for the impacts of invasive species are ecologically plausible, even in large networks. Species in the same taxonomic group are similarly impacted by a virtual invasive species. However, interesting differences within a given taxonomic group can occur. The results suggest that some native species may be at risk from a wider range of invasives than previously believed. The implications of these results for ecologists and land managers are discussed.
Highlights
As impacts of introduced species cascade through trophic levels, they can cause indirect and counterintuitive effects
We explain how to construct an ecological network and we demonstrate how the impact of the introduction of an invasive species on each native species can be computed
We find that species in the same taxonomic group respond to invasive species
Summary
As impacts of introduced species cascade through trophic levels, they can cause indirect and counterintuitive effects. To investigate the impact of invasive species at the network scale, we use a generalized food web model, capable of propagating changes through networks with a series of ecologically realistic criteria. Species in the same taxonomic group are impacted by a virtual invasive species. Several authors have studied how the impacts of invasive species on ecological networks can be modelled and propagated across trophic levels[5,6,7]. Following[7], we use a generalized model[8], where the biomass of the species of the network change in time according to general functions, to explore the effect of alien species on an island food web. The generalized model allows analyses of ecologically realistic network interactions and measure the addition of virtual invasive species. We discuss the limits of the study, the potential improvements of the mathematical model and the overall results, along with their implications on ecological network analysis
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