Estimating the community-level impact of the riparan alien species Mimulus guttatus by using a replicated BACI field experiment
Abstract
The community-level consequences of the invasion by Mimulus guttatus were studied. Neither the univariate nor multivariate analysis revealed significant differrences in the community characteristics studied, following the removal of M. guttatus.
It remains debatable whether this lack of response is due to the little or no real effect of the removal of M. guttatus or to the limited extent of the data. However, the control (invaded) plots had slightly higher mean number of species than treated plots, so it is very unlikely that the invasion of M. guttatus reduces species richness.
The occurrence of M. guttatus in the Czech Republic is limited to sites frequently disturbed by flooding. Therefore, the occurrence of resident species seems to be constrained by the disturbance regime rather than competition with the invasive M. guttatus.