Vale, C. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2026

Combined impacts of invasive alien species and fire on ecosystems are complex, mostly negative, and understudied: a global review

Invasion-fire interactions can negatively impact ecosystems by driving biodiversity loss, altering ecological processes, modifying habitat structure, and compromising ecosystem functioning. Understanding how this interaction operates is essential to design effective management strategies that are successful in controlling both invasive alien species (IAS) and fire. Therefore, the present literature review aims to synthesize the current knowledge on invasion-fire interaction and its impacts on ecosystems, as well as identify knowledge gaps in the field. The review included 464 studies, from which information on context, species and fire characteristics, interaction outcomes, and research approaches was extracted. Fire generally promotes IAS, although studies on invasive animals are limited and no research has examined the effects of fire on fungi. Management through prescribed fire showed significantly better outcomes than wildfires in suppressing IAS, yet positive impacts still outnumbered the negative ones. In turn, IAS can change fire regimes causing regime shifts, but this direction of interaction is much less studied. Combined impacts of fire and IAS on ecosystems are predominantly negative, although interactions are complex and not always synergistic. Key knowledge gaps include geographic regions with known Invasion-fire interactions that remain underreported, a lack of broad-scale studies, limited management interventions, understudied taxa, and limited understanding of the combined effects on ecosystems. Remote sensing and laboratory experiments, which have been rarely used, could address some of these gaps.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2024

Heat Stress on the brown Seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum: differential population sensitivity to future climate.

Accurate forecasts of the biological impacts of climate change require a better understanding of how small-scale temperature variability affects individual physiology and population dynamics. But doing so for intertidal species with large distribution ranges, while also accounting for the effect of local adaptation, presents numerous technical challenges. Here, we assessed the macroecological consequences of thermal stress on the cold-adapted brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum across its European distribution. We collected specimens from ten populations spanning latitudes 41{degrees}N to 60{degrees}N and subjected them to simulated intertidal heat stress using a novel, custom-built experimental setup that replicated realistic conditions, including tidal cycles, light conditions, and temperature trajectories based on in situ data. Our factorial design comprised eight experimental treatments, combining two high-tide water temperatures (15 {degrees}C and 20.5 {degrees}C) with four low-tide peak temperatures (28.5 {degrees}C to 40.5 {degrees}C). Physiological performance was evaluated through measurements of growth, mortality, and oxygen production. Results indicate that thermal stress is more closely associated with the magnitude of temperature change between high and low tides rather than the absolute maximum temperatures reached. Algae exposed to warmer water temperatures (20.5 {degrees}C) consistently outperformed those in colder water (15 {degrees}C), suggesting that cold upwelled waters at the species southern limit may not be essential for survival. Southern populations demonstrated higher resilience to thermal stress than central and northern counterparts. Integrating these physiological responses with climate projections, we employed demographic models to forecast long-term population dynamics. The models predict that future climatic conditions could exceed the thermal resilience of specific populations, leading to uneven impacts across the European distribution of the species. Notwithstanding, range contractions may occur at the warm edge of the distribution, where populations, though more resilient to thermal stress, could still be overwhelmed by the pace of warming. This study underscores the importance of realistic experimental simulations in evaluating species thermal tolerance and highlights the potential for climate change to differentially impact populations along large latitudinal gradients.

ecology↗