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Title: Dissecting the null model for biological invasions: A meta-analysis of the propagule pressure effect}
Article:
Abstract:
A consistent determinant of the establishment success of alien species appears to be the number of individuals that are introduced to found a population( propagule pressure), yet variation in the form of this relationship has been largely unexplored. Here, we present the first quantitative systematic review of this form, using Bayesian meta-analytical methods. The relationship between propagule pressure and establishment success has been evaluated for a broad range of taxa and life histories, including invertebrates, herbaceous plants and long-lived trees, and terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates. We found a positive mean effect of propagule pressure on establishment success to be a feature of every hypothesis we tested. However, establishment success most critically depended on propagule pressures in the range of 10–100 individuals. Heterogeneity in effect size was associated primarily with different analytical approaches, with some evidence of larger effect sizes in animal rather than plant introductions. Conversely, no variation was accounted for in any analysis by the scale of study( field to global) or methodology( observational, experimental, or proxy) used. Our analyses reveal remarkable consistency in the form of the relationship between propagule pressure and alien population establishment success.
Introduction:
Increases in propagule pressure can be achieved through the release of large numbers of individuals( i) in any single introduction event( propagule size),( ii) through many independent introduction events( propagule number), or( iii) through a combination of the two( propagule pressure)[11]. Positive effects on establishment success have been found for all three components( e. g., see Table 3. 1 in[19]), in which establishment is defined as an alien population that is self-sustaining but not necessarily spreading. In addition, some studies have suggested that there is a relatively narrow critical range of propagule sizes over which variation is especially important for establishment success[20]. Yet few studies have quantified, and none have quantitatively compared, effect sizes for relationships between establishment success and propagule number, size, and pressure[21]. Reported relationships between propagule pressure and establishment success range from strongly positive[22] through indistinguishable from zero[23], to even negative[24]. However, to date, no one has identified the possible sources of this variation nor quantified how( or if) a source could influence reported relationships. The relationship between propagule pressure and establishment success has been evaluated for a broad range of taxa and life histories, including small aquatic invertebrates[25], terrestrial herbaceous plants[26], long-lived trees[27], and terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates[28, 29]. There is sound evidence that species-level and location-level factors can influence establishment success[30]. Thus, given the vast array of life histories and tremendous variety of ecological contexts contained within this suite of studies, we predict that the propagule pressure effect will vary in magnitude and perhaps direction( i. e., positive or negative) between them. In addition, the effect has been studied across an extraordinary range of spatial scales spanning experimental field plots and mesocosms[31] up to worldwide surveys[11, 14, 32]. The propagule pressure effect represents a population-level process; for this reason, we predict that studies conducted at spatial scales on which data can be directly measured( e. g., using experimental approaches) will produce larger effect sizes. In contrast, global surveys and those that are observational undoubtedly rely on data that contain inconsistencies and reporting errors( e. g.,[33]); these may serve to obscure underlying relationships between establishment and propagule pressure[34], likely lowering the overall strength of effect size estimates. This variety of study designs, taxonomic diversity, and spatial scales has required variation in the statistical methodologies adopted. These methods range from simple univariate models to complicated multivariate structures that seek to disentangle the often complex intercorrelations between propagule pressure, species traits, and environmental conditions[35–38]. Although this variability in study designs and approaches has been long recognised[11, 14], there are no quantitative analyses that determine the influence these factors have on the strength or shape of the propagule pressure effect on the establishment success of alien species. In particular, we predict that analyses that isolate the effect of propagule pressure can produce larger effect sizes, due to omitted variable bias, than those that simultaneously evaluate other predictors. Propagule pressure can be difficult to measure in the natural experiments that represent real-world introductions of alien species and impossible to estimate retrospectively. To deal with this challenge, proxies for components of propagule pressure are analysed instead of direct estimates of propagule pressure itself. Proxies are variables that are not measures of the number of individuals released to found different populations but that are thought to correlate with that number[39]. For this reason, we expect that results using proxy measures will produce relatively weaker effect sizes than those using direct measures, from either observational or experimental studies. The observed variability in the strength of the relationship between propagule pressure and establishment success has led some authors to suggest that the proposed ‘null model for biological invasions’[13] is actually an artefact of a prominent set of purportedly pseudoreplicated studies from a limited set of locations[40]. The prime example of this effect is the set of studies based on Acclimatisation Society introductions of alien vertebrates( particularly birds and mammals) to New Zealand[41, 42]. Analyses based on this dataset have revealed consistent support for the propagule pressure effect[43–48]. However, continued analysis of these data has led to the suggestion of a ‘Kiwi’ effect, in which the influence of propagule pressure has been substantially larger in New Zealand, particularly for Acclimatisation Society introductions of alien birds[48]. Although relationships between propagule pressure and establishment success have been reported for a range of locations, spatial scales, and data sources[14], the anecdotal evidence is insufficient to definitively state that the effect is generalisable in the absence of formal analysis of the heterogeneity among effect sizes and of the variation in these relationships. Our analyses directly test for generality in the propagule pressure effect. Here, we have performed the first systematic and quantitative review of the relationship between propagule pressure and establishment success for alien species introductions. We used quantitative meta-analytical methods to estimate the overall effect of propagule pressure on establishment success and to test for heterogeneity in this relationship. We then assessed the extent to which heterogeneity can be explained by the set of a priori hypotheses concerning factors that vary across studies. Specifically, we tested whether the relationship between propagule pressure and establishment success differs among( i) taxonomic groups,( ii) studies performed at different spatial scales, and( iii) relationships analysed using proxies for propagule pressure compared with those studies using direct measures( i. e., observational and experimental studies, which themselves are expected to differ[49]). We also tested whether variation in the effect can be ascribed to features of the statistical analyses employed, specifically through either( iv) the number of predictors in the model( i. e., univariate versus multivariate analyses) or( v) the transform used to model propagule pressure( i. e., linear or log transformed). For the subsets of relevant studies, we assessed the strength of the relationship in studies of( vi) propagule number versus propagule size and( vii) different ranges of propagule size. Finally, for the small number of experimental studies( n = 11) that provided raw data on the binary outcome of establishment success( 0 = failed; 1 = success), we directly evaluated the specific variation in the shape( i. e., slope) of the effect of propagule pressure on establishment probability.
Discussion:
In the first quantitative systematic review of the effect of propagule pressure on establishment success, we have presented consistent evidence that alien populations founded by more individuals are more likely to establish. Indeed, we have shown that the mean propagule pressure effect is clearly positive and that this was a feature of every subset of the data we analysed. The details of the propagule pressure relationship with establishment success are as important to the management of invasions, and to our understanding of small-population dynamics, as is the direction of the relationship. The shape of the relationship informs at what sizes populations are most subject to stochastic and other factors that increase extinction risk[50], and it informs the risk-reduction payoff associated with reducing alien species releases via biosecurity policy[11]. As Fig 3 illustrates, there is remarkable consistency across experimental studies in the rate at which establishment probability increases with incremental increases in the size of the founding population. Success in these experimental studies seems most critically to depend on propagule pressures in the range of 10–100 individuals: establishment probability is low for founding populations at the lower end of this range but highly likely( but never certain) for founding populations at the upper end. Similar values have also been shown to be the critical range for bird introductions worldwide[20]. This result suggests that it does not take many individuals to found an alien population and that management needs to reduce alien species releases to very low levels( essentially into single figures) to have some confidence that establishment is unlikely. Even then, the risk is not eliminated( see e. g.,[47])—only complete exclusion of an alien can guarantee no establishment. Fig 3 also illustrates that, even though small numbers of individuals( e. g., <10) can sometimes lead to relatively high probabilities of establishment success( e. g., >0. 8), this does not negate the universality of the propagule pressure effect, as has sometimes been suggested[40]. The utility of a quantitative meta-analytical approach is that it can identify heterogeneity in effect sizes, and it can potentially identify sources of that heterogeneity. To the latter end, we tested whether a range of methodological, analytical, and biological differences in the set of studies analysed can explain observed variation. Our findings are as interesting for where heterogeneity does not reside as for where it does. Most notably, none of the analyses produced models with strong support( relative model weights from LOO-IC) compared with an Intercept-only model. Variation was not accounted for, in any analysis, by the spatial scale of study( from local to global), and there was no evidence for an effect of the source of evidence( experimental, observational, or proxy). The effect of propagule pressure on establishment success manifests equally, as positive, within local experimental tests[51] and global compilations[29]. We also found the propagule pressure effect to be just as strong when studies used proxies for propagule pressure rather than direct measurements of the number of individuals released. Heterogeneity in effect sizes was most apparent when taking account of the variety of ways analyses were performed across studies. The moderator variable that most consistently explained variation in effect size was whether analysis was univariate or multivariate( see Tables A and C in S1 Text). Multivariate analyses produced noticeably weaker effects of propagule pressure in the full dataset( Fig 1). This effect may result because propagule pressure is acting in part as a proxy for variables that explain variation in alien population establishment success( e. g., annual fecundity[32]), so studies that include these variables in a statistical model will reduce( albeit not remove) the effect of propagule pressure. However, there is also a more prosaic reason for the univariate/multivariate difference. Estimates of the variance explained by a predictor variable depend on the amount of total variance to be explained, and including additional predictor variables inevitably reduces unexplained variance. Unless predictor variables are completely uncorrelated in such models, effect size estimates for a given variable, such as propagule pressure, will be reduced, according to which other predictor variables are in the model[52]. We also found that if analysis is restricted only to those studies that could directly measure the number of individuals released( i. e., that analyse propagule size), then the positive relationship between propagule pressure and establishment success is strongest when large step changes across ranges of propagule pressures are discretised, compared with continuous( either linear or log-transformed) measures( Fig 2A; Table 1; Table C in S1 Text). Bins can span a variety of ranges in propagule pressure analyses, and there is an obvious difficulty in comparing effect size estimates for discretised relationships where the cut points differ between studies. The choice can also affect the result obtained. We caution against the practice of discretising continuous variables, particularly where there is not well-trodden a priori categorisation( see also[53]). Furthermore, effect estimates based on cutoffs that are not defined a priori will be biased, and ordinary inferential statistics will be overly optimistic regarding the influence of propagule pressure on establishment[54]. Effect sizes also weakened as the range of release sizes( i. e., propagule size) increases( Fig 2B; Table 1; Table C in S1 Text). Effect sizes were strongest for studies where minimum to maximum release sizes spanned around 100 individuals or fewer. Propagule ranges of this magnitude are likely primarily to concern the lower end of release sizes, which is exactly the range over which increases in propagule size have their strongest impact in experimental studies in our data( Fig 3) and within other analyses( see, e. g.,[20]). Small propagules are highly likely to fail to establish, but the average probability of success is already close to its maximum value( always <1) by the time 100 individuals have been released. Our analyses suggest that increasing the range of release sizes beyond approximately 100 individuals may therefore dilute the measured propagule pressure effect, i. e., by including a large number of release sizes that generally do not explain more variation in success[55]. Finally, we explicitly accounted for the nonindependent analysis of overlapping datasets by grouping studies and effect sizes which relied on the same( or similar) data. Although we found some evidence that vertebrate and invertebrate studies have larger effect sizes than plant studies( Table A in S1 Text)—perhaps because the ability of many successful alien plant species to reproduce asexually or vegetatively may mitigate the effects of small population sizes relative to most animal species—there was no clear effect of any of the other groupings. In particular, the Acclimatisation Society introduction of birds to New Zealand( i. e., the ‘Kiwi’ effect) produced a strong effect size( 0. 74; 95% CI = 0. 48–0. 99) but one that overlapped the overall mean population effect size. The acclimatisation of alien vertebrates in New Zealand has provided a compelling case study of the invasion process, in part because the island provides one of the best-documented natural experiments in the establishment of alien birds and mammals. However, there is no evidence that the influence of propagule pressure in driving establishment success in New Zealand is notably larger than elsewhere in the wold. In conclusion, we find consistent support for a positive relationship between propagule pressure and establishment success despite a priori expectations that the effect magnitude( or sign) of this relationship will vary according to a variety of biological and methodological factors. There is heterogeneity in effect sizes, but this is primarily associated with different analytical approaches. Our analyses dispel suggestions that the effect of propagule pressure on establishment success is an artefact of the analyses of only certain data( e. g., historical), conducted in only certain ways( e. g., experimental), on certain metrics of propagule pressure( e. g., pressure, size, or number), or when the analysis focuses only on certain species( e. g., vertebrates) or certain locations( e. g., New Zealand). There was no evidence for publication bias, and the propagule pressure effect is remarkably consistent in both size and shape. There are very few, if any, other factors purported to explain establishment success that can claim such universal support[13]. In a field that seeks to address one of the more pressing issues of global change( invasive species[56]), this result is encouraging as it provides a clear policy and management target for slowing invasion rates: reduce propagule pressure, ideally to single figures or zero, regardless of any other feature of the invasion.
Alien species are a major contributor to human-induced global environmental change . The probability of whether or not an alien species will successfully establish in a novel environment is often related to the number of times a species is introduced and the number of individuals that are introduced each time , collectively termed ‘propagule pressure’ . Despite this evidence , we don’t yet know whether this is a universal characteristic of species invasions , and the role of propagule pressure continues to be questioned . Here , we present a quantitative meta-analysis of the relationship between propagule pressure and establishment success across a broad range of species and geographies . We found that propagule pressure was consistently and positively associated with the establishment success of alien species . We conclude that propagule pressure is indeed the most consistent and strongest determinant of alien species establishment . No other factors suggested to explain establishment success can claim such universal support . Our results underpin a clear policy and management target for slowing invasion rates by reducing propagule pressure—ideally to single figures or zero—regardless of any other feature of the invasion .