Graduation Date
Fall 2023
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Biology
Committee Chair Name
Paul Bourdeau
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Sean Craig
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Erik Jules
Third Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Fourth Committee Member Name
Eve Robinson
Fourth Committee Member Affiliation
Community Member or Outside Professional
Subject Categories
Biology
Abstract
The theory of biotic resistance predicts that more diverse communities should be less susceptible to invasion by novel species, but given the opposing results of multiple observational and experimental studies in marine systems, it is unclear how changes in environmental conditions can affect invasion success in communities that differ in diversity. I used marine fouling communities to test how the diversity of the species present in an initial community (hereafter termed “resident species”) affected the establishment and growth of all species not present in the initial communities (hereafter termed “novel species”) at two locations at the Eureka Public Marina, in Humboldt CA. I found that the less diverse communities ended up with a higher percent cover of novel species despite significant differences between both experimental locations in water motion, propagule pressure, and nudibranch abundance. These results support the biotic resistance hypothesis, in that more diverse communities were less invaded by novel species and suggest that environmental conditions may need to differ drastically to drive differences in invasion success.
Citation Style
MLA
Recommended Citation
Bruntil, Taylor Robert, "Are biodiverse communities more resistant to invasion? A case study with marine fouling communities" (2023). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 703.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/703