Distribution, ecology and status of a threatened species Ischnura intermedia (Insecta: Odonata), new for Europe

Geert De Knijf, David J. Sparrow, Andreas C. Dimitriou, Roger Kent, Heather Kent, Klaus Siedle, Jenny Lewis, Linda Crossley

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    Abstract

    Until now, nonnative plant species were rarely found at high elevations
    and latitudes. However, partly because of climate warming, biological
    invasions are now on the rise in these extremely cold environments.
    These plant invasions make it timely to undertake a thorough
    experimental assessment of what has previously been holding them
    back. This knowledge is key to developing efficient management of the
    increasing risks of cold-climate invasions. Here, we integrate human
    interventions (i.e., disturbance, nutrient addition, and propagule input)
    and climatic factors (i.e., temperature) into one seed-addition experiment
    across two continents: the subantarctic Andes and subarctic
    Scandinavian mountains (Scandes), to disentangle their roles in limiting
    or favoring plant invasions. Disturbance was found as the main
    determinant of plant invader success (i.e., establishment, growth, and
    flowering) along the entire cold-climate gradient, explaining 40–60% of
    the total variance in our models, with no indication of any facilitative
    effect from the native vegetation. Higher nutrient levels additionally
    stimulated biomass production and flowering. Establishment and flowering
    displayed a hump-shaped response with increasing elevation,
    suggesting that competition is the main limit on invader success at
    low elevations, as opposed to low-growing-season temperatures at
    high elevations. Our experiment showed, however, that nonnative
    plants can establish, grow, and flower well above their current elevational
    limits in high-latitude mountains. We thus argue that cold-climate
    ecosystems are likely to see rapid increases in plant invasions in
    the near future as a result of a synergistic interaction between increasing
    human-mediated disturbances and climate warming.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalInternational journal of odonatology
    Volume19
    Issue number4
    Pages (from-to)257-274
    Number of pages18
    ISSN1388-7890
    Publication statusPublished - 15-Dec-2016

    Thematic List 2020

    • Water

    Taxonomic list

    • dragonflies (Odonata)

    Geographic list

    • Europe
    • Middle East
    • Mediterranean Basin

    Technological

    • identification
    • genetic technologies

    Free keywords

    • phylogeny
    • phenology
    • distribution

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