The influence of environmental variability on the ecological performance of native and non-native marine organisms.

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Coastal marine habitats represent some of the most invaded systems on Earth because of the openness of marine systems and a long history of human activities that translocate species (i.e. shipping, aquaculture). Marine ecosystems are also threatened by climate change, which is altering species interactions, driving shifts in species' distributions, and changes in community structure. There is emerging evidence to suggest that climate change - specifically ocean warming and the frequency of extreme climatic events - may facilitate the spread and establishment of non-native marine species at local [1] and regional [2] scales. Conversely, recent research has shown that some assemblages comprising native and non-native species are resilient to realistic warming scenarios, and that increased temperature stress does not necessarily favour non-native species [3]. Clearly, interactions between climate change and invasive species are poorly resolved, and are likely to be context and species-dependent. This project will address this important knowledge gap by developing novel manipulative experiments to examine how temperature mediates ecological performance of, and interactions between, native and non-native species in model ecosystems. Greater understanding of the responses of native and non-native species to warming and extreme events is critical for predicting ecological change and identifying management strategies.