A global analysis of enemy release and its variation with latitude

Aim: The enemy release hypothesis (ERH) posits that exotic species suffer lower enemy damage than natives, and thus promotes their successful invasion. However, the generality of lower damage for exotics remains widely debated. A recent view proposes that enemy release (ER) could systematically change with latitude, potentially helping explain these inconsistencies. Here, we test whether exotic plant species suffer consistently lower herbivore damage relative to natives, and whether ER varies with latitude.

Location: Global.

Time Period: 1960-2018.

Major Taxa Studied: Plants.

Methods: Using leaf herbivory data for 1,098 plant species, we compared the herbivory rate between exotic and native plants across all taxa, between the introduced and native range of exotic species, and between exotic and native species co-occurring in the same community. Then, we tested the interaction effect between origin (exotic vs. native) and latitude to assess variation in ER with latitude. We a...