Based on the 'Environmental Filtering' hypothesis, environmental factors like temperature and precipitation are thought to determine the habitat range of a species, while competition and other biological factors influence where different species are found within that range. However, new Southeast CASC-supported research suggests that these factors can interact in ways that may increase their impact on native species. In a recently published article in the Journal of Animal Ecology, researchers set up an experiment to study how two native species of Florida treefrogs responded to changes in water availability, that can vary with climate conditions, and the introduction of an invasive predator, the Cuban treefrog. The researchers found that fear of the invasive predator limited the native treefrogs’ movement in search of water. This work demonstrates that the combined effect of invasive species and climate change could reduce native species’ access to water resources and may have broader implications for maintaining biodiversity in the region.  

This work is supported by the Southeast CASC project, “An Assessment of Invasive Species Range Shifts in the Southeastern U.S. and Actions to Manage Them”.