# Latitude and Community Diversity Primarily Explain Invasion Patterns of Widespread Invasive Plants in Small, Subtropical Lakes

## TL;DR

This study explores how factors like plant diversity and latitude influence the spread of invasive aquatic plants in small lakes in the southeastern U.S.

## Contribution

The study identifies that community diversity and latitude are key predictors of invasive plant occurrence in small lakes, which are often overlooked in invasion research.

## Key findings

- Plant species diversity was positively correlated with the occurrence probability of three invasive species.
- Latitude was negatively correlated with the occurrence probability of two invasive species.
- Multiple environmental factors together best explain invasion patterns of the studied species.

## Abstract

Within the study of aquatic invasive species, small aquatic ecosystems are often neglected, despite representing most global freshwater bodies. This study uses community composition and environmental and geographic factors to explain the occurrence of invasive species in small lakes in the southeastern United States. Four invasive species widespread in the southeastern United States were selected as the focus of this study:
Alternanthera philoxeroides
, Cyperus blepharoleptos,
Panicum repens
, and
Triadica sebifera
. The aquatic plant communities of the lakes were surveyed using littoral zone point sampling. Generalized linear models for each species were fit with the probability of occurrence (P

occ
) as the response variable and Secchi depth, plant species diversity (α‐diversity), point richness, perimeter, latitude, and longitude as potential predictors; all predictors were subjected to model selection to define the best‐fit models. All best‐fit models were strongly predictive with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values > 0.80. Plant species diversity was positively correlated with P

occ
of
A. philoxeroides
,
P. repens
, and
T. sebifera
. Latitude was negatively correlated with P

occ
of
P. repens
and
T. sebifera. Perimeter was negatively related to P

occ
of
A. philoxeroides
. Secchi depth was negatively related to the P

occ
of C. blepharoleptos. Although plant species diversity and latitude were most commonly predictive, P

occ
was usually explained by multiple predictors, suggesting that these relationships are best explained with multiple environmental factors.

Invasion patterns of four aquatic plants were predicted using biotic and abiotic factors. Diversity (positively related) and latitude (negatively related) were most commonly predictive of the probability of invasive species occurrence. Invasion patterns for each species were explained by multiple predictors.