Introduced plants as novel Anthropocene habitats for insects

Padovani, Roberto J.; Salisbury, Andrew; Bostock, Helen; Roy, David B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5147-0331; Thomas, Chris D.. 2020 Introduced plants as novel Anthropocene habitats for insects. Global Change Biology, 26 (2). 971-988. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14915

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14915

Abstract/Summary

Major environmental changes in the history of life on Earth have given rise to novel habitats, which gradually accumulate species. Human‐induced change is no exception, yet the rules governing species accumulation in anthropogenic habitats are not fully developed. Here we propose that nonnative plants introduced to Great Britain may function as analogues of novel anthropogenic habitats for insects and mites, analysing a combination of local‐scale experimental plot data and geographic‐scale data contained within the Great Britain Database of Insects and their Food Plants. We find that novel plant habitats accumulate the greatest diversity of insect taxa when they are widespread and show some resemblance to plant habitats which have been present historically (based on the relatedness between native and nonnative plant species), with insect generalists colonizing from a wider range of sources. Despite reduced per‐plant diversity, nonnative plants can support distinctive insect communities, sometimes including insect taxa that are otherwise rare or absent. Thus, novel plant habitats may contribute to, and potentially maintain, broader‐scale (assemblage) diversity in regions that contain mixtures of long‐standing and novel plant habitats.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14915
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	1354-1013
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	biodiversity, conservation biology, entomology, environmental change, macroecology, phylogenetics, phytophagous
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	27 Jan 2020 17:15 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/526593

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14915

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-)

ISSN:

1354-1013

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

Additional Keywords:

biodiversity, conservation biology, entomology, environmental change, macroecology, phylogenetics, phytophagous