Skip to main content

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 58))

Abstract

Recent increases in intercontinental invasion rates by organisms of many taxa, brought about primarily by human activity, create both important ecological problems for the recipient lands and opportunities to understand better those factors that favor success as a colonizer and the environmental conditions that favor successful invasions. Elton’s (1958) extensive review of invasions by plants and animals concentrated on the ecological conditions in areas where alien individuals were arriving. From his survey, Elton concluded that invaders were more likely to establish viable populations in cultivated or otherwise disturbed and, usually, simplified communities. He also noted that natural habitats on small islands were much more vulnerable to invading species than those on large continents, a point clearly anticipated by Darwin in The Origin of Species.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Axelrod DI (1973) History of Mediterranean ecosystems in California. In: diCastri F. Mooney HA (eds), Ecological Studies, Vol 7, Mediterranean Type Ecosystems: Origin and Structure. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp 225–277

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker HG, Stebbins GL (1965) The Genetics of Colonizing Species. Academic Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Brower LP, Brower JVZ (1964) Birds, butterflies and plant poisons: a study in ecological chemistry. Zoologica 49: 137–159

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brower LP, Ryerson WN, Coppinger LL, Glazier SC (1968) Ecological chemistry and the palatability spectrum. Science 161: 1349–1351

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brown JH, Davidson DW (1977) Competition between seed-eating rodents and ants in desert ecosystems. Science 196: 880–882

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brown JH, Davidson DW, Reichman OJ (1979) An experimental study of competition between seed-eating desert rodents and ants. Am Zool 19: 1129–1143

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown WL Jr (1957) Centrifugal speciation. Q Rev Biol 32: 247–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell MM, Richards JH, Johnson DA, Nowak RS, Dzurek RS (1981) Coping with herbivory: photosynthetic capacity and resource allocation in two semiarid Agropyron bunchgrasses. Oecologia (Berl) 50: 14–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caswell H, Reed F, Stephenson SN, Werner PA (1973) Photosynthetic pathways and selective herbivory, a hypothesis. Am Natur 107: 465–480

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Colwell R (1984) What’s new? Community ecology discovers biology. In: Price PW, Slobodchikoff CN, Gaud WS (eds), A New Ecology: Novel Approaches to Interacting Systems. John Wiley, New York, pp 387–396

    Google Scholar 

  • Connell JH (1983) On the prevalence and relative importance of interspecific competition: evidence from field experiments. Am Natur 122: 661–696

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Courtenay WR Jr, Stauffer JR Jr (1984) Distribution, Biology and Management of Exotic Fishes. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Darlington PJ Jr (1957) Biogeography-An Ecological Perspective. Ronald Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson DW, Brown JH, Inouye RS (1980) Competition and the structure of granivore communities. Bioscience 30: 233–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diamond JM (1975) Assembly of species communities. In: Cody ML, Diamond JM (eds), Ecology and Evolution of Communities. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pp 342–344

    Google Scholar 

  • Dillon LS (1966) The life cycle of the species: an extension of current concepts. Syst Zool 15: 112–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diver C (1940) The problem of closely related species living in the same area. In: Huxley J (ed), The New Systematics. Clarendon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Edmunds GF Jr, Alstad DN (1978) Coevolution in insect herbivores and conifers. Science 199: 941–945

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ellison L (1960) Influence of grazing on plant succession of rangelands. Bot Rev 26: 1–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elton CS (1958) The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants. Methuen, London, 181 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox LR (1981) Defense and dynamics in plant-herbivore systems. Am Zool 21: 853–864

    Google Scholar 

  • Furniss RL, Carolin VM (1980) Western Forest Insects. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Miscellaneous Publication No 1339

    Google Scholar 

  • Gause GF (1934) The Struggle for Existence. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Godwin H (1956) The History of the British Flora: A Factual Basis for Phytogeography. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenslade PJM (1968) Island patterns in the Solomon Islands bird fauna. Evolution 22: 751–761

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenslade PJM (1969) Land fauna: insect distribution patterns in the Solomon Islands. Philos Trans R Soc 255: 271–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haukioja E, Niemela P (1979) Birch leaves as a resource for herbivores: seasonal occurrence of increased resistance in foliage after mechanical damage of adjacent leaves. Oecologia (Berl) 39: 151–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchings SS, Stewart G (1953) Increasing forage yields and sheep production on intermountain winter ranges. USDA Forest Service Circular No 925, 63 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones DA (1979) Chemical defense: primary or secondary function? Am Natur 113: 445–451

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy PB (1903) Summer ranges of eastern Nevada sheep. Nevada State University Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin No 55, Reno, 55 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawton JH, Strong DR Jr (1981) Community patterns and competition in folivorous insects. Am Natur 118: 317–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leopold A (1941) Cheat takes over. Land 1: 310–313

    Google Scholar 

  • Levins R (1968) Evolution in Changing Environments. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur RH (1969) Species packing, and what interspecies competition minimizes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 64: 1639–1671

    Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur RH (1972) Geographical Ecology. Harper & Row, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Mack RN (1981) Invasion of Bromus tectorum L. into western North America: an ecological chronicle. Agro-Ecosystems 7: 145–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mack RN, Thompson JN (1982) Evolution in steppe with few large, hooved animals. Am Natur 119: 757–773

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacMahon JA, Schimpf DJ, Anderson DC, Smith KG, Bayh RL (1981) An organismcentered approach to some community and ecosystem concepts. J Theor Biol 88: 287–307

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • MacNally RC (1983) On assessing the significance of interspecific competition to guild structure. Ecology 64: 1646–1652

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maldonado-Koerdell M (1964) Geohistory and paleogeography of Middle America. In: West RC (ed), Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol 1. Natural Environments and Early Cultures. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, pp 3–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall LG, Webb SD, Sepkoski JJ Jr, Raup DM (1982) Mammalian evolution and the great American interchange. Science 215: 1351–1357

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Metcalf (1968) Introduced Trees of Central California. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 159 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell A (1978) A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe. William Collins and Sons, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Mooney HA (ed) (1977) Convergent Evolution in Chile and California. Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania

    Google Scholar 

  • Mooney HA, Dunn EL (1970) Convergent evolution of Mediterranean-climate evergreen sclerophyll shrubs. Evolution 24: 292–303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mooney HA, Harrison AT, Morrow PA (1975) Environmental limitations of photosynthesis on a California evergreen shrub. Oecologia (Berl) 19: 293–301

    Google Scholar 

  • Mortimer AM (1984) Population ecology and weed science. In: Dirzo R, Sarukhan J (eds), Perspectives on Plant Population Ecology. Sinauer, Sunderland, Massachusetts, pp 363–388

    Google Scholar 

  • Paine RT (1966) Food web complexity and species diversity. Am Natur 100: 65–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paine RT (1980) Food webs: linkage, interaction strength and community infrastructure. J Anim Ecol 49: 667–685

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parson DJ, Moldenke AR (1975) Convergence in vegetation structure along analogous climatic gradients in California and Chile. Ecology 56: 590–597

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons RF, Cameron DG (1974) Maximum plant species diversity in terrestrial communities. Biotropica 6: 202–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piemeisel RL (1938) Changes in weedy plant cover on cleared sagebrush land and their probable causes. US Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 654

    Google Scholar 

  • Pimm SL (1982) Food Webs. Chapman & Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Platt K, Jackman ER (1946) The cheatgrass problem in Oregon. Oregon St Fed Coop Ext Serv Bull 668

    Google Scholar 

  • Pulliam HR (1975) Coexistence of sparrows: a test of community theory. Science 189: 474–476

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rhoades DF (1979) Evolution of plant chemical defense against herbivores. In: Rosenthal GA, Janzen DH (eds), Herbivores: Their Interactions with Secondary Plant Metabolites. Academic Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricklefs RE, Cox CW (1972) Taxon cycles in the West Indian avifauna. Am Natur 106: 175–219

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoener TW (1983) Field experiments on interspecific competition. Am Natur 122: 240–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson GG (1980) Splendid Isolation: The Curious History of South American Mammals. Yale University Press, New Haven

    Google Scholar 

  • Southwood THE (1961) The numbers of species of insects associated with various trees. J Anim Ecol 30: 1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens RL (1964) The soils of Middle America and their relations to Indian peoples and cultures. In: West RC (ed), Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol 1. Natural Environment and Early Cultures. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas

    Google Scholar 

  • Strong DR (1974a) The insects of British trees: community equilibration in ecological time. Ann Missouri Bot Gard 61: 692–701

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strong DR (1974b) Rapid asymptotic species accumulation in phytophagous insects: the pests of cacao. Science 185: 1064–1066

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Werger MJA, Kruger FJ, Taylor HC (1972) A phytosociological study of the Cape Fynbos and other vegetation at Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch. Bothalia 10: 599–614

    Google Scholar 

  • Westman WE (1975) Edaphic climax pattern of the pigmy forest region of California. Ecol Monogr 45: 109–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wheelwright NT, Orians GH (1982) Seed dispersal by animals: contrasts with pollen dispersal, problems of terminology, and constraints on coevolution. Am Natur 119: 402–413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White TCR (1974) A hypothesis to explain outbreaks of looper caterpillars, with special reference to populations of Selidosema suavis in a plantation of Pinus radiata in New Zealand. Oecologia (Berl) 16: 279–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, TCR (1978) The importance of a relative shortage of food in animal ecology. Oecologia (Berl) 33: 71–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker RH (1977) Evolution of species diversity in land plant communities. Evol Biol 10: 1–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson EO (1961) The nature of the taxon cycle in the Melanesian ant fauna. Am Natur 95: 169–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yensen DL (1981) The 1900 invasion of alien plants into southern Idaho. Great Basin Natur 41: 176–183

    Google Scholar 

  • Young JA, Evans RA, Major J (1972) Alien plants in the Great Basin. J Range Manage 25: 194–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1986 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Orians, G.H. (1986). Site Characteristics Favoring Invasions. In: Mooney, H.A., Drake, J.A. (eds) Ecology of Biological Invasions of North America and Hawaii. Ecological Studies, vol 58. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4988-7_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4988-7_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-97153-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-4988-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics