Abstract
Biological invasions are a major threat to the terrestrial ecosystems of the sub-Antarctic islands. While non-native plants generally have negative impacts on native arthropods, few studies have investigated how both native and non-native arthropods and plants interact in the sub-Antarctic islands. This was the aim of our study, which was conducted on three islands of the Kerguelen archipelago. The design was based on the spatial proximity of areas dominated by non-native or native plant species. Trait-based indices were calculated to characterize the functional structure of plant communities, considering plant stature and leaf traits. Native and non-native vegetation had contrasting functional composition but their functional diversity was similar. The effects of the type of vegetation, native or non-native, and plant functional diversity on arthropods were tested. Native macro-arthropod richness and abundance were similar or higher in non-native vegetation, and benefited from greater plant functional diversity. Abundances of macro-herbivores, macro-decomposers and macro-predators were also similar or higher in non-native vegetation. Conversely, the abundances of micro-arthropods, Symphypleona springtails and Oribatida mites, were higher in native vegetation but we also found that plant functional diversity had a negative effect on Symphypleona. Our results suggest that non-native plants can affect micro-arthropods directly or indirectly, likely through their effects on abiotic factors. By affecting macro-arthropod abundances across different trophic groups and by depleting micro-arthropods, non-native plants can alter trophic interactions, functional balances and the functioning of whole ecosystem.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available in the Data INRAE repository, https://doi.org/10.15454/DPILL6
Code availability
Not applicable.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Peter Convey and two anonymous referees for helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. The authors thank M. Lebouvier and G. Le Provost for useful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. The authors thank all the contributors involved in the long-term plant and arthropod monitoring carried out within the framework of the programme 136 (IPEV). This research was supported by the ‘Institut Polaire Français Paul-Emile Victor’ (IPEV, programme 136), and the CNRS (Zone-Atelier de Recherches sur l’Environnement Antarctique et Subantarctique).
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The research was supported by the ‘Institut Polaire Français Paul-Emile Victor’ (IPEV, programme 136 subanteco) and the CNRS (Zone-Atelier de Recherches sur l’Environnement Antarctique et Subantarctique).
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IB and MH conceived and designed research. IB, MB, AP conducted experiments. IB and BB identified arthropods. DF developed analytical tools to analyze Pléiades images and produced vegetation maps. YR designed geostatistical application for fieldwork. JLC provided long-term plant database. IB analyzed data. IB and MH wrote the manuscript. DF and JLC commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Badenhausser, I., Fourcy, D., Bertrand, M. et al. Do non-native plants affect terrestrial arthropods in the sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Islands?. Polar Biol 45, 491–506 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03010-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03010-x