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Diet composition of the invasive red-whiskered bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus in Mauritius

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2010

Jannie Fries Linnebjerg ,
Dennis M. Hansen ,
Nancy Bunbury  and
Jens M. Olesen
Jannie Fries Linnebjerg*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade building 1540, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Grannum Road, Vacoas, Mauritius
Dennis M. Hansen
Affiliation:
Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Grannum Road, Vacoas, Mauritius Department of Biology, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, California 94305, USA
Nancy Bunbury
Affiliation:
Seychelles Islands Foundation, PO Box 853, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles
Jens M. Olesen
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade building 1540, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
*
1Corresponding author. Current address: National Environmental Research Institute, Department of Arctic Environment, Aarhus University, P.O. Box 358, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark; email: jannie.linnebjerg@gmail.com
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Extract

Disruption of ecosystems is one of the biggest threats posed by invasive species (Mack et al. 2000). Thus, one of the most important challenges is to understand the impact of exotic species on native species and habitats (e.g. Jones 2008). The probability that entire ‘invasive communities’ will develop increases as more species establish in new areas (Bourgeois et al. 2005). For example, introduced species may act in concert, facilitating one another's invasion, and increasing the likelihood of successful establishment, spread and impact. Simberloff & Von Holle (1999) introduced the term ‘invasional meltdown’ for this process, which has received widespread attention since (e.g. O'Dowd 2003, Richardson et al. 2000, Simberloff 2006). Positive interactions among introduced species are relatively common, but few have been studied in detail (Traveset & Richardson 2006). Examples include introduced insects and birds that pollinate and disperse exotic plants, thereby facilitating the spread of these species into non-invaded habitats (Goulson 2003, Mandon-Dalger et al. 2004, Simberloff & Von Holle 1999). From a more general ecological perspective, the study of interactions involving introduced and invasive species can contribute to our knowledge of ecological processes – for example, community assembly and indirect interactions.

Keywords

introduced speciesinvasional meltdownoceanic islandplant–animal interactionpositive interactionseed dispersal
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , May 2010 , pp. 347 - 350
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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References

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