Northeast Sleeper Species Database (ver. 2.0, May 2024)
Dates
Publication Date
2022-05-16
Start Date
2020
End Date
2022
Last Revision
2024-05-09
Citation
O'Uhuru, A., Bradley, B. A., and Morelli, T. L., 2022, Northeast Sleeper Species Database (ver. 2.0, May 2024): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P1M33QBM.
Summary
Sleeper populations are established populations of introduced species whose population growth is limited by one or more abiotic or biotic conditions. Sleeper populations pose an invasion risk if a change in those limiting conditions, such as climate change, enables population growth and invasion. With thousands of established species, it is critical that we identify and prioritize potential sleepers. Here, we identified non-native plants established in the northeastern United States with high impacts and the potential to expand with climate change. We focused on 118 taxa regulated by one or more state outside the Northeast plus 61 taxa recorded as invasive globally and under consideration for regulation in the Northeast. We identified [...]
Summary
Sleeper populations are established populations of introduced species whose population growth is limited by one or more abiotic or biotic conditions. Sleeper populations pose an invasion risk if a change in those limiting conditions, such as climate change, enables population growth and invasion. With thousands of established species, it is critical that we identify and prioritize potential sleepers. Here, we identified non-native plants established in the northeastern United States with high impacts and the potential to expand with climate change. We focused on 118 taxa regulated by one or more state outside the Northeast plus 61 taxa recorded as invasive globally and under consideration for regulation in the Northeast. We identified 49 plants with ecological impacts linked to loss of native diversity and 94 plants with socioeconomic impacts. 81 species showed an increase in climatic suitability for abundant populations with climate change. This approach can inform climate-smart, proactive management of sleeper populations before they become invasive.
Original version - May 2022 (available from author)
First Revision - February 2023 (available from author)
Second Revision - May 2024 (version 2.0)
Revision 2.0 by Ellen Brown on May 9, 2024. To review the changes that were made, see “sleeperSpeciesDatabaseVersionHistory.txt” in the attached files section.