Non-native vegetation encroachment drives trophic turnover in island nematodes

Sharp, Adam; Correia, Margarida; Gray, Alan; Lawson, Rebecca; Ledger, Martha; Tawatao, Noel; Prior, Thomas. 2025 Non-native vegetation encroachment drives trophic turnover in island nematodes. Biodiversity and Conservation. 10.1007/s10531-025-03009-w

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-025-03009-w

Abstract/Summary

Nematodes are important components of terrestrial ecosystems. There is currently limited understanding of how soil nematode communities are altered by non-native vegetation encroachment. The spatial turnover of nematode communities was studied on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic: an isolated and degraded volcanic island of sparse native vegetation. Many non-native plants were introduced in the mid-1800’s, and non-native shrubs have more recently spread across the lowlands. Ascension’s elevation gradient represented a unique space-for-time proxy for non-native vegetation colonisation of a relatively barren landscape. Nematodes were collected at 0, 200, 400, 600 and 800 m elevations along three transects and their community composition linked to Landsat-derived vegetation cover and moisture over the 2000–2023 period. Although taxonomic turnover was elevation independent, both nematode abundance and richness increased with elevation. The moist and densely-vegetated mountain top was dominated by plant-root parasites, less dense mid-elevations by omnivores, dry and sparsely-vegetated lowlands by fungivores, and the moist littoral habitat by predators. Landsat analysis predicted that the relative abundance of root parasitic nematodes on Ascension increased by 23% with spreading non-native vegetation over 24 years. While taxonomic turnover in nematode composition may be resultant solely of historic species introductions, trophic turnover is spatially structured and likely follows non-native vegetation encroachment closely. Root parasitic nematodes may be spreading rapidly with non-native vegetation, especially on oceanic islands. The abundance of such nematodes in soil could become an unanticipated hinderance in the restoration of invaded habitat – potentially requiring management long after non-native vegetation is cleared.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1007/s10531-025-03009-w
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Biodiversity and Land Use (2025-)
ISSN:	0960-3115
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	ecological restoration, elevation gradients, invasive species, nematodes, non-native vegetation, root parasites, spatial turnover, trophic ecology
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Related URLs:	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13883570
Date made live:	22 Jan 2025 15:33 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/538786

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1007/s10531-025-03009-w

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Biodiversity and Land Use (2025-)

ISSN:

0960-3115

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

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

Additional Keywords:

ecological restoration, elevation gradients, invasive species, nematodes, non-native vegetation, root parasites, spatial turnover, trophic ecology