Yan Moraes

Biologist

Can CSR theory predict plant invasion and its effects on community functional diversity?


ABSTRACT: Invader exotic plants are a major challenge to biodiversity conservation due to their often-negative effects on native plant communities. An important agenda in ecology is thus predicting which alien species can become invaders (invasiveness) as well as which communities are more vulnerable to invasion and their potential subsequent effects (invisibility), which remains both unclear in ecology. Here, we measured some morpho-physiological plant traits of an invader (Dracaena fragrans) and native community species (in invaded vs. non-invaded areas) of a tropical rainforest (Tijuca National Park, Brazil) to access their CSR strategies and test whether the try-harder hypothesis can predict both invasiveness and its effects on native community functional composition at local scales. We found an important support for CSR theory predictions and our results reinforce the need to apply the coexistence and community assembly theory to understand and predict biological invasion and ir effects on native communities.