Cited by 37Marine Ecology and Invasive SpeciesEcology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesMarine and coastal plant biology

An Alien Invader is the Cause of Homogenization in the Recipient Ecosystem: A Simulation-Like Approach

Open access
Morri, Carla, Montefalcone, Monica, Gatti, Giulia, Vassallo, Paolo, Paoli, Chiara, Bianchi, Carlo Nike·2019·Diversity

Abstract

Biotic homogenization is an expected effect of biological invasions. Invasive alien species typically show great adaptability to a wide range of environmental conditions and may expand into different habitats, thus reducing the dissimilarity among the recipient communities. We tested this assumption by analyzing a comprehensive database (78 species × 229 samples) collected between 2012 and 2017 in the marine protected area of Portofino (NW Italy), where Caulerpa cylindracea, one of the worst invaders in the Mediterranean Sea, exhibits high substratum cover at depths between 1 m and 45 m in 14 different communities (identified according to the European Nature Information System EUNIS for habitat classification). Five samples for each of the eight depth zones (i.e., 5 m, 10 m, 15 m, 20 m, 25 m, 30 m, 35 m, and 40 m) were randomly re-sampled from the comprehensive database to produce a dataset of 67 species × 40 samples. Then, a second dataset of 66 species × 40 samples was simulated by excluding Caulerpa cylindracea. Both re-sampled datasets underwent multivariate analysis. In the presence of C. cylindracea, the overall similarity among samples was higher, thus indicating homogenization of the rocky reef communities of Portofino Marine Protected Area. Continued monitoring activity is needed to understand and assess the pattern and extent of C. cylindracea’s inclusion in the recipient ecosystems.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3390/d11090146

Cites

95 of 95 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • In many cases, an impoverished homogeneous state has spread within the Mediterranean basin through the spread and dominance of some alien structural ecosystem engineers.

    “In many cases, an impoverished homogeneous state has been spread within the Mediterranean basin, through the spread and dominance of some alien structural ecosystem engineers (Navarro-Barranco et al. 2018; Morri et al. 2019).”

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

3 of the 98 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Morri, C., Montefalcone, M., Gatti, G., Vassallo, P., Paoli, C., & Bianchi, C. N.
Affiliations
  • University of Genoa (IT)
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
  • University of Pisa (IT)
Corresponding author
Morri, Carla
Venue
Diversity
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2019-08-26
Volume
11
Issue
9
Pages
146
ISSN
1424-2818 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2969510874
Cited by
37
References
98
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 2
FWCI
1.93
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Diversity (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • CINECA IRIS Institutial Research Information System (University of Genoa) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Oskar-Bordeaux (Universite de Bordeaux) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Marine Ecology and Invasive Species
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine and coastal plant biology
Keywords
biotic homogenization, biological invasions, invasive species, Caulerpa cylindracea, community similarity, Mediterranean Sea, depth zones, habitat classification

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review