Addressing context dependence in ecology

Catford, Jane A.; Wilson, John R.; Pyšek, Petr; Hulme, Philip E.; Duncan, Richard P.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2021.09.007

Cited by 181 publications

(164 citation statements)

References 127 publications

(193 reference statements)

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“…Our analysis suggests that the establishment of alien woody species was strongly context dependent (sensu Catford et al, 2022), meaning that the impacts of phylogenetic and trait differences between alien and native species on establishment were not consistent across Hawaiian forests (Tecco et al, 2010;Gross et al, 2013;González-Moreno et al, 2014;Sapsford et al, 2020). The strength of biotic filtering is expected to shift along environmental gradients (e.g., Cornwell & Ackerly, 2009;Kraft & Ackerly, 2010), with the expectation that biotic filtering should be stronger in more favorable environments compared to harsher environments (Bertness & Callaway, 1994).…”

Section: Context Dependency Of Alien Species Establishment and Dominancementioning

confidence: 80%

“…There is a growing appreciation that biological invasions are context dependent, as they are frequently the result of interactions among abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic factors (Ricciardi et al ., 2013; Pearson et al ., 2018; Sapsford et al ., 2020; Catford et al ., 2022). Along abiotic gradients, native communities are expected to be less invaded and alien plant species more similar to native communities where abiotic stress is high, while native communities are expected to be more invaded and alien species less similar to native communities where abiotic stress is low (Perelman et al ., 2007; Tecco et al ., 2010; Gross et al ., 2013; González-Moreno et al ., 2014; Sapsford et al ., 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interacting abiotic and biotic drivers shape woody invasions across Hawaiian forests

Craven

Chase

Knight

2022

Preprint

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The same features that generate biodiversity patterns across and within oceanic islands over evolutionary time - interactions between isolation, area, and heterogeneity - also influence their vulnerability to biological invasions. Here, we identify the factors that shape the richness and abundance of woody aliens in forest communities across the Hawaiian archipelago, and assess the relative importance of abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic factors and their interactions on the establishment and dominance of woody alien species. Using a database of 460 forest plots distributed across the six major Hawaiian islands, we examine variation in i) relative alien species richness and abundance as a function of multiple factors (e.g., temperature, aridity, soil age, and the human influence index) and ii) establishment and dominance of alien species as a function of abiotic and anthropogenic factors, as well as phylogenetic and trait distinctiveness. We found that relative alien species richness and abundance were higher in areas where temperature was high and aridity low. Gradients in temperature, aridity, soil age, and human influence also modulated the importance of biotic factors in determining establishment of alien species. In contrast, whether these alien species could become locally dominant was not strongly influenced by abiotic or biotic factors, or their interactions. Our results suggest that environmental filtering mediates the strength of biotic filtering in determining where woody aliens are able to colonize and establish on these oceanic islands, but not whether they become dominant. The strong context dependence of multi-species invasions highlights the complexity of developing management strategies to mitigate the biodiversity and ecosystem impacts of biological invasions.

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Section: Context Dependency Of Alien Species Establishment and Dominancementioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interacting abiotic and biotic drivers shape woody invasions across Hawaiian forests

Craven

Chase

Knight

2022

Preprint

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“…Here, we provide an overview of the documented effects of climate, invasive species, land use and nutrient concentrations, and water clarity on Walleye and Yellow Perch populations via multiple pathways. We also provide ideas for distinguishing between true context dependence that results from interactions among environmental drivers and apparent context dependence that is due to nonmonotonic relationships or methodological choices (Catford et al 2021). Cooperative studies and synthesis may broaden understanding by identifying drivers of context dependence (Biggs et al 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

It’s Complicated and It Depends: A Review of the Effects of Ecosystem Changes on Walleye and Yellow Perch Populations in North America

Hansen

Ruzich

Krabbenhoft

et al. 2022

N American J Fish Manag

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Walleye Sander vitreus and Yellow Perch Perca flavescens are culturally, economically, and ecologically significant fish species in North America that are affected by drivers of global change. Here, we review and synthesize the published literature documenting the effects of ecosystem changes on Walleye and Yellow Perch. We focus on four drivers: climate (including temperature and precipitation), aquatic invasive species, land use and nutrient loading, and water clarity. We identified 1,232 tests from 370 papers, split evenly between Walleye (n = 613) and Yellow Perch (n = 619). Climate was the most frequently studied driver (n = 572), and growth or condition was the most frequently studied response (n = 297). The most commonly reported relationship was "no effect" (42% of analyses), usually because multiple variables were tested and only a few were found to be significant. Overall responses varied among studies for most species-response-driver combinations. For example, the influence of invasive species on growth of both Walleye and Yellow Perch was approximately equally likely to be positive, negative, or have no effect. Even when results were variable, important patterns emerged; for example, growth responses of both species to temperature were variable, but very few negative responses were observed. A few relationships were relatively consistent across studies. Invasive species were negatively associated with Walleye recruitment and abundance, and higher water clarity was negatively associated with Walleye abundance, biomass, and production. Some variability in responses may be due to differences in methodology or the range of variables studied; others represent true context dependence, where the effect of a driver depends on the influence of other variables. Using common metrics of impact, publishing negative results, and robust analytical approaches could facilitate comparisons among systems and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the responses of Walleye and Yellow Perch to ecosystem change.

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“…Taken together, these models (specifically the mechanisms identified as most variable across different contexts in figure 2 and the interactions in figure 3 ) elucidate important missing areas of research for garlic mustard. In designing future studies, it is important to be aware that confounding factors, issues with statistical inference, or methodological differences among studies can lead to misidentification of context dependency (Catford et al 2022 ). As such, there is a need for standardized conceptual understanding and a quantitative definition of the size and delineation of a plot, site, and region in invasive plant studies to allow for comparison among studies and an improved understanding of scaling effects on garlic mustard invasion and impact.…”

Section: Proposing Conceptual Models For Garlic Mustard Invasion Successmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Context dependency, which occurs as a result of complex interactions among mechanistic factors, is increasingly recognized in complex, macroscale, strongly empirical fields of study such as ecology. Invasion studies may be particularly prone to context dependency because of the wide variety of interactions encountered and initiated by the invader in its novel environment (Catford et al 2022 ). Typically, invasion ecology focuses on either intrinsic species-specific characteristics or extrinsic (abiotic and biotic environmental) factors (Colautti et al 2014 ), but these mechanisms interact and can jointly affect the success or failure and magnitude of invasion (Sapsford et al 2020 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Where Is Garlic Mustard? Understanding the Ecological Context for Invasions of Alliaria petiolata

et al. 2022

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The invasive plant Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) has spread throughout forest understory and edge communities in much of North America, but its persistence, density, and impacts have varied across sites and time. Surveying the literature since 2008, we evaluated both previously proposed and new mechanisms for garlic mustard's invasion success and note how they interact and vary across ecological contexts. We analyzed how and where garlic mustard has been studied and found a lack of multisite and longitudinal studies, as well as regions that may be under- or overstudied, leading to poor representation for understanding and predicting future invasion dynamics. Inconsistencies in how sampling units are scaled and defined can also hamper our understanding of invasive species. We present new conceptual models for garlic mustard invasion from a macrosystems perspective, emphasizing the importance of synergies and feedbacks among mechanisms across spatial and temporal scales to produce variable ecological contexts.

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Addressing context dependence in ecology

Cited by 181 publications

References 127 publications

Interacting abiotic and biotic drivers shape woody invasions across Hawaiian forests

Interacting abiotic and biotic drivers shape woody invasions across Hawaiian forests

It’s Complicated and It Depends: A Review of the Effects of Ecosystem Changes on Walleye and Yellow Perch Populations in North America

Where Is Garlic Mustard? Understanding the Ecological Context for Invasions of Alliaria petiolata

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