Review
Ecological and evolutionary consequences of coastal invasions

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Abstract

Although coastal estuarine and marine systems are among the most heavily invaded systems in the world, the study of nonindigenous species in these systems has, historically, lagged behind that of terrestrial and freshwater systems. However, in the past decade, a rapid increase in studies of coastal invasions has provided important insight into the invasion process in these systems and how these invasions might differ qualitatively from invasions elsewhere. Based on new evidence for cryptic species invasions, hybridization among invaders and native species, impacts on multiple species and ecosystems, and the rapid and extensive geographical spread of invaders, it is clear that the ecological and evolutionary consequences of invasions in heavily invaded coastal habitats might be more extensive than previously realized. Although these studies have produced important new advances, many other areas remain relatively unexplored and are ripe for future investigation.

Section snippets

Ecological consequences of invasion

The conceptual framework and methodology employed by most invasion biologists in coastal habitats are derived from benthic community ecology, with most studies focusing on the direct impacts of the invader on adjacent trophic levels. Recent studies have begun to examine indirect effects of invaders, their impacts on species at different trophic levels, and impacts on food-web properties and ecosystem processes. Current work has also investigated features of the native community that might

Invasion pathways

Studies of coastal marine and estuarine invasions have begun to consider the evolutionary consequences of invasions (Table 1). One example of the many new approaches taken is the use of molecular systematics to determine pathways of invasion. Phylogeography can be used to evaluate the geographical origin of particular invasions, such as the multiple invasions by the European green crab, as recently determined by Bagley and Geller (Box 1) [39].

Cryptic invasions

Cryptic invasions (i.e. where it is unclear whether

Conclusions and future directions

The rapidly increasing number of study of invasions in marine and estuarine systems is providing exciting new insights into their ecological and evolutionary consequences. There is a growing understanding that humans are amplifying the natural process of range expansion by many orders of magnitude, the pace and geographical extent of which have no historic precedent. Much can be learned about the structure of coastal ecosystems from the study of invasions; however, several improved approaches

Acknowledgements

I thank J. Carlton, J. Geller, J. Maron, G. Ruiz and two reviewers for discussions and/or comments. I also acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation and the National Sea Grant College Program.

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