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INDIRECT FACILITATION OF AN ANURAN INVASION BY NON-NATIVE FISHES
Citation:
Adams, M. J., C. A. Pearl, AND R. B. Bury. INDIRECT FACILITATION OF AN ANURAN INVASION BY NON-NATIVE FISHES. ECOLOGY LETTERS. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA, 6:343-351, (2003).
Description:
Indirect trophic interactions are increasingly considered critical to the structure of biological communities but have received little attention in the process of invasion. We found that invasion of bullfrogs is facilitated by the presence of non-native fish, which indirectly increase tadpole survival by removing predatory macroinvertebrates. Native dragonfly larvae caused zero survival of tadpoles in field enclosures unless a non-native bluegill sunfish was present to reduce dragonfly density. This pattern was also evident in field surveys where bullfrogs were more abundant and predaceous macroinvertebrates less abundant when non-native fishes were present. Positive interactions among non-native species have the potential to disrupt ecosystems by amplifying invasions and can occur via indirect mechanisms.