PARENT SESSION
Oral Session # 9: Invasive Species I: Theory and Modeling.
Presiding: E Rykiel
Monday, August 4. 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM, SITCC Meeting Room 201.

Species diversity and the patterns of invasion of multiple biological groups in the United States.

Stohlgren, Thomas^*,1, Barnett, David ², Flather, Curtis³, Fuller, Pam⁴, Kartesz, John ⁵, ¹ USGS Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO² Natural Resource Ecology Lab, Fort Collins, CO³ USDA Forest Service, Fort Collins, CO⁴ USGS Caribbean Science Center, Gainesville, FL⁵ Biota of North America Program, Chapel Hill, NC

ABSTRACT- We document the broad-scale patterns of invasion of multiple biological groups to begin to set priorities for prevention, early detection, containment, and restoration. Very strong positive correlations exist between native and non-native plant species richness in 48 of 50 states using county-level data. At statewide scales, non-indigenous fishes, and snails and mollusks had similar invasion patterns and were significantly positively cross-correlated with native and non-native plant species richness (r values >0.4, P >0.05). County level data showed that the proportional abundance of non-indigenous birds was associated with crop production and human populations. We show how native species richness declines with latitude and elevation, while non-native species more closely track human populations (r>0.56, p<0.001).

Key words: plants, invasive, birds, aquatic