Estimating non-indigenous species establishment and their impact on biodiversity, using the Relative Suitability Richness model

摘要

1. Key questions in invasion biology include where will a non-indigenous species (NIS) establish, and how will it affect biodiversity? Scientists have addressed the first question, largely through correlating species' distributions with environmental factors (i.e. species distribution models, SDM). Conceptually, SDMs reflect a species' abiotic constraints, but in reality, they measure the realized rather than fundamental niche. This is a limitation of SDMs, but analysed correctly, it may also be a strength since SDMs already incorporate the outcome of species interactions.