TY - JOUR
T1 - Addressing context dependence in ecology
AU - Catford, Jane A.
AU - Wilson, John R.U.
AU - Pyšek, Petr
AU - Hulme, Philip E.
AU - Duncan, Richard P.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Becks Spake, Est?baliz Palma, Ren-Jay Wang, and Sarah Wyse for images in Box 1 and Kevin Mueller and an anonymous reviewer for comments that helped improve the paper. The idea for this paper stemmed from a keynote delivered by J.A.C. at the 2019 Ecology and Management of Alien Plant Invasions conference; J.A.C. thanks people for feedback on that presentation. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. [101002987] to J.A.C.). J.R.U.W. thanks the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) for funding, noting that the views expressed here need not represent those of DFFE or its employees. P.P. was supported by EXPRO grant No. 19-28807X (Czech Science Foundation) and long-term research development project RVO 67985939 (Czech Academy of Sciences). No interests are declared.
Funding Information:
We thank Becks Spake, Estíbaliz Palma, Ren-Jay Wang, and Sarah Wyse for images in Box 1 and Kevin Mueller and an anonymous reviewer for comments that helped improve the paper. The idea for this paper stemmed from a keynote delivered by J.A.C. at the 2019 Ecology and Management of Alien Plant Invasions conference; J.A.C. thanks people for feedback on that presentation. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. [ 101002987 ] to J.A.C.). J.R.U.W. thanks the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) for funding, noting that the views expressed here need not represent those of DFFE or its employees. P.P. was supported by EXPRO grant No. 19-28807X ( Czech Science Foundation ) and long-term research development project RVO 67985939 ( Czech Academy of Sciences ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors
Funding Information:
We thank Becks Spake, Estíbaliz Palma, Ren-Jay Wang, and Sarah Wyse for images in Box 1 and Kevin Mueller and an anonymous reviewer for comments that helped improve the paper. The idea for this paper stemmed from a keynote delivered by J.A.C. at the 2019 Ecology and Management of Alien Plant Invasions conference; J.A.C. thanks people for feedback on that presentation. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. [101002987] to J.A.C.). J.R.U.W. thanks the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) for funding, noting that the views expressed here need not represent those of DFFE or its employees. P.P. was supported by EXPRO grant No. 19-28807X (Czech Science Foundation) and long-term research development project RVO 67985939 (Czech Academy of Sciences). No interests are declared.
Funding Information:
We thank Becks Spake, Estíbaliz Palma, Ren-Jay Wang, and Sarah Wyse for images in Box 1 and Kevin Mueller and an anonymous reviewer for comments that helped improve the paper. The idea for this paper stemmed from a keynote delivered by J.A.C. at the 2019 Ecology and Management of Alien Plant Invasions conference; J.A.C. thanks people for feedback on that presentation. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. [ 101002987 ] to J.A.C.). J.R.U.W. thanks the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) for funding, noting that the views expressed here need not represent those of DFFE or its employees. P.P. was supported by EXPRO grant No. 19-28807X ( Czech Science Foundation ) and long-term research development project RVO 67985939 ( Czech Academy of Sciences ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors
PY - 2021/10/29
Y1 - 2021/10/29
N2 - Context dependence is widely invoked to explain disparate results in ecology. It arises when the magnitude or sign of a relationship varies due to the conditions under which it is observed. Such variation, especially when unexplained, can lead to spurious or seemingly contradictory conclusions, which can limit understanding and our ability to transfer findings across studies, space, and time. Using examples from biological invasions, we identify two types of context dependence resulting from four sources: mechanistic context dependence arises from interaction effects; and apparent context dependence can arise from the presence of confounding factors, problems of statistical inference, and methodological differences among studies. Addressing context dependence is a critical challenge in ecology, essential for increased understanding and prediction.
AB - Context dependence is widely invoked to explain disparate results in ecology. It arises when the magnitude or sign of a relationship varies due to the conditions under which it is observed. Such variation, especially when unexplained, can lead to spurious or seemingly contradictory conclusions, which can limit understanding and our ability to transfer findings across studies, space, and time. Using examples from biological invasions, we identify two types of context dependence resulting from four sources: mechanistic context dependence arises from interaction effects; and apparent context dependence can arise from the presence of confounding factors, problems of statistical inference, and methodological differences among studies. Addressing context dependence is a critical challenge in ecology, essential for increased understanding and prediction.
KW - apparent and mechanistic context dependence
KW - contingency and higher-order interactions
KW - ecological interaction effects
KW - experimental design and statistics
KW - invasive alien species
KW - multiple stressors and global environmental change factors
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118331859&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.tree.2021.09.007
DO - 10.1016/j.tree.2021.09.007
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85118331859
SN - 0169-5347
VL - 37
SP - 158
EP - 170
JO - Trends in Ecology and Evolution
JF - Trends in Ecology and Evolution
IS - 2
ER -