Plant species' origin predicts dominance and response to nutrient enrichment and herbivores in global grasslands.
Abstract
Exotic species dominate many communities; however the functional significance of species'
biogeographic origin remains highly contentious. This debate is fuelled in part by
the lack of globally replicated, systematic data assessing the relationship between
species provenance, function and response to perturbations. We examined the abundance
of native and exotic plant species at 64 grasslands in 13 countries, and at a subset
of the sites we experimentally tested native and exotic species responses to two fundamental
drivers of invasion, mineral nutrient supplies and vertebrate herbivory. Exotic species
are six times more likely to dominate communities than native species. Furthermore,
while experimental nutrient addition increases the cover and richness of exotic species,
nutrients decrease native diversity and cover. Native and exotic species also differ
in their response to vertebrate consumer exclusion. These results suggest that species
origin has functional significance, and that eutrophication will lead to increased
exotic dominance in grasslands.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AnimalsBiodiversity
Ecosystem
Eutrophication
Food
Grassland
Herbivory
Introduced Species
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Plants
Soil
Vertebrates
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15614Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1038/ncomms8710Publication Info
Seabloom, Eric W; Borer, Elizabeth T; Buckley, Yvonne M; Cleland, Elsa E; Davies,
Kendi F; Firn, Jennifer; ... Yang, Louie (2015). Plant species' origin predicts dominance and response to nutrient enrichment and herbivores
in global grasslands. Nat Commun, 6. pp. 7710. 10.1038/ncomms8710. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15614.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Justin Prouty Wright
Professor of Biology
My research focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of patterns of biological
diversity across the planet. I am particularly interested in two broad questions:
1)How does the modification of the environment by organisms affect community structure
and ecosystem function? and 2) what aspects of biodiversity matter most in the regulation
of ecosystem function? While much of my research has focused on wetland plant communities,
I am willing to study any organism and work in any ecosys

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