Endemic predators, invasive prey and native diversity

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Interactions between native diversity and invasive species can be more complex than is currently understood. Invasive ant species often substantially reduce diversity in the native ants diversity that act as natural control agents for pest insects. In Indonesia (on the island of Sulawesi), the third largest cacao producer worldwide, we show that a predatory endemic toad (Ingerophrynus celebensis) controls invasive ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) abundance, and positively affects native ant diversity. We call this the invasive-naivety effect (an opposite of enemy release), whereby alien species may not harbour antipredatory defences against a novel native predator. A positive effect of the toads on native ants may facilitate their predation on insect vectors of cacao diseases. Hence, toads may increase crop yield, but further research is needed on this aspect. Ironically, amphibians are globally the most threatened vertebrate class and are strongly impacted by the conversion of rainforest to cacao plantations in Sulawesi. It is, therefore, crucial to manage cacao plantations to maintain these endemic toads, as they may provide critical ecosystem services, such as invasion resistance and preservation of native insect diversity. This journal is

Original languageEnglish
JournalProceedings of the Royal Society B
Volume278
Issue number1706
Pages (from-to)690-694
Number of pages5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 07.03.2011

DOI

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Two model formulations for gradient crystal plasticity
  2. Papers from the 10th Lancaster University Postgraduate Conference in Linguistics and Language Teaching 2015
  3. Does ESG performance have an impact on financial performance?
  4. Competition in fragmented markets
  5. Gabriel Tarde (1843-1904)
  6. Effective working hours and wages
  7. Defining Value in Sustainable Business Models
  8. Pathways for Transformatio
  9. A practical perspective on repatriate knowledge transfer
  10. How selective are real wage cuts?
  11. ‘Work experience without qualities?’
  12. Die Schreibwerkstatt Mehrsprachigkeit
  13. Soft spaces across the Fehmarn Belt
  14. Dispersal and diversity–unifying scale-dependent relationships within the neutral theory
  15. On the frontiers of collaboration and conflict: how context influences the success of collaboration
  16. Understanding spam
  17. Critical evaluation of commonly used methods to determine the concordance between sonography and magnetic resonance imaging: A comparative study
  18. Biodiversity buffers pollination from changes in environmental conditions
  19. The efficiency of different online learning media - An empirical study
  20. Introduction to Music and the Politics of Memory
  21. Knowledge sharing for shared success in the decade on ecosystem restoration
  22. Motivation and emotion as mediators in multimedia learning
  23. Social Exclusion and Housing
  24. „Conversation is simply something to begin with“
  25. Die Schreibwerkstatt Mehrsprachigkeit
  26. Not Feeling Good in STEM
  27. Support for major hypotheses in invasion biology is uneven and declining
  28. Advanced oxidation processes in the treatment of trifluraline effluent
  29. Zur ‚Privatisierung‘ von gewaltsamem Protest
  30. Fragmente zu einer "Generativen Resonanzästhetik".
  31. Microstructure and corrosion behavior of Mg-Sn-Ca alloys after extrusion
  32. Polychlorinated Biphenyls in a Temperate Alpine Glacier
  33. Comparing the fatigue performance of Ti-4Al-0.005B titanium alloy T-joints, welded via different friction stir welding sequences
  34. The positive facet of self-compassion predicts self-reported use of and attitudes toward desirable difficulties in learning
  35. Wie gehe ich mit schwierigen Schülern um?
  36. Sufficiency and Subsistence – On two important concepts for Sustainable Development
  37. Fast supercritical fluid extraction and high-resolution gas chromatography with electron-capture and flame photometric detection for multiresidue screening of organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides in Brazil's medicinal plants
  38. Großgruppenmethoden
  39. Dimensionierung von Sicherheitsbeständen
  40. Silence, remembering, and forgetting in Wittgenstein, Cage, and Derrida
  41. LiteraturGesellschaft DDR