Multi-taxa inventory of naturalized species in Chile

Here we present a multi-taxa inventory of naturalized alien species
recorded on continental Chile and adjacent marine habitats, including
eight taxonomic groups. We identified 1,122 species. These comprise 790
vascular plants (terrestrial and aquatic); 31 nonvascular plants
[Bryophyta (mosses), Marchantiophyta (liverworts) and Anthocerotophyta
(hornworts)]; 18 marine and freshwater macro and micro algae; 71 fungi; 39
terrestrial vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds); 108
insects; 37 marine and freshwater invertebrates and vertebrates (6
polychaetes, 3 mollusks and 28 Pisces); and 28 terrestrial gastropods. For
all taxonomic groups, naturalized species were found to mainly be
distributed in regions with Mediterranean and temperate climates, with few
at either extreme of the country. The invasion curves show that
naturalized species first underwent a positive increment, followed by an
apparent plateau phase, mainly in vascular plants, insects and
vertebrates. In fungi, marine and freshwater macro and microalgae,
vertebrates and invertebrates, the cumulative number of naturalized
species increased sharply starting in the early 20th century; the lack of
collections before 1900 is also evident. When considering naturalized
species as a whole, this inventory highlights that the rate of new
naturalizations consistently increased after 1950, especially for some
taxonomic groups such as insects, fungi, and vascular plants. This
multi-taxa inventory of naturalized species provides a platform for
national reporting on biodiversity indicators and highlights areas where
Chile must invest resources to manage biological invasions.