Webinar on Climate Change and Invasive Species
Non-additive impacts of global change and invasive species
Dr. Jenica Allen, Assistant Professor, University of New Hampshire
Northeast Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change Management group (RISCC) will host a webinar on January 18 at 12:00 p.m. for a presentation by Dr. Jenica Allen on a meta-analysis she is completing on interactions between invasion and other forms of global change (including climate change). Title and abstract of Dr. Allen’s talk are below. Please save the date. More details about how to join will follow in early January.
Independently, invasive species and abiotic global change are two dominant driving forces with direct effects on ecological systems. What remains unclear is whether the combined effects of abiotic change and invasion will be additive, antagonistic (sub-additive), or synergistic (super-additive). To address this question, we conducted a meta-analysis of empirical studies that manipulated one or more invasive species and one of six global change factors (temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, nitrogen deposition, eutrophication, acidification, and drought) in both terrestrial and aquatic systems. We found that about a quarter of the time, global change and invasion occurring together will generate larger effects than we would predict from each driver independently, and about a quarter of the time impacts of invasion and global change partially offset each other. The frequency of synergistic and antagonistic interactions highlights the need for continued work to tease apart when and in which direction to expect non-additive effects. Better prediction of non-additive effects can help direct invasion prevention and control strategies in addition to mitigation strategies for abiotic changes.