Rved variation, combining mammal phylogenetic distinctiveness, biological and ecological factors.MethodsCategorization of alien mammals in South

Rved variation, combining mammal phylogenetic distinctiveness, biological and ecological factors.MethodsCategorization of alien mammals in South AfricaAlien species are grouped into five categories or Appendices (Data S1) according to their invasion intensity ranging from Appendix 1 to Appendix five. Appendix 1 involves “species listed as prohibited alien species”, that’s, all aliens introduced to South Africa that have been strongly detrimental owing to their higher invasion intensity (“strong invaders”; Hufbauer and Torchin 2007; Kumschick et al. 2011). We referred to these species as “prohibited species”. In MK-571 (sodium salt) chemical information contrast, other introduced species categorized as Appendix 2 don’t show so far any invasion capacity and are as a result labeled as “species listed as permitted alien species” (“noninvasive aliens”). We referred to these species as “permitted species” as opposed to “prohibited species.” The third category, i.e., Appendix 3 labeled as “species listed as invasive species” consists of all species which are invasive but whose invasion intensity and impacts are less than those with the Appendix 1 (“weak invaders”; Hufbauer and Torchin 2007). We referred to this category as “invasive species.” Appendices four and five incorporate, respectively, “species listed as identified to become invasive elsewhere in the world” and “species listed as potentially invasive elsewhere in the world.”Data collectionWe included within this study only species that happen to be alien in South Africa and present in PanTHERIA database (Jones2014 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley Sons Ltd.K. Yessoufou et al.Evolutionary History PubMed ID:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21347021 and Mammalian Invasionet al. 2009). From this worldwide database, we retrieved 38 life-history variables characterizing the ecology, biology, and societal life of mammals (Table S1). Inside the present checklist of alien mammals of South Africa, there are 20 species listed in Appendix 1, eight in Appendix 2 and 68 in Appendix three (Table S1; Data S1). There is no species listed at the moment in Appendix 4 and only one species is presently beneath Appendix five. For the purpose of data evaluation, we replaced the species Castor spp. listed under Appendix 1 with Castor canadensis for which information are accessible in PanTHERIA. Also, all hybrids identified in Appendices (e.g., Connochaetes gnou 9 C. taurinus taurinus) were removed in the analysis as well as all species listed in Appendices but missing in the PanTHERIA database. We did not include the single species listed below Appendix 5. In total, alien mammals analyzed in this study incorporate: Appendix 1 (prohibited = 19 species), Appendix two (permitted = 7 species), and Appendix three (invasive = 51 species).Data analysisWe converted invasive status of all alien species into binary traits: “prohibited” (Appendix 1) versus nonprohibited (Appendices 2 + 3). We then tested for taxonomic selectivity in invasion intensity assessing no matter whether there have been more or less “prohibited” species in some taxa (households and orders) than anticipated by opportunity. For this objective, we estimated the proportion of prohibited species (observed proportion) in every single household and order. If n could be the total number of prohibited species in the dataset, we generated from the dataset 1000 random assemblages of n species each. For every of the random assemblages, we calculated the proportion of prohibited species (random proportion). The significance from the difference amongst the observed and the mean in the 1000 random proportions was tested based on 95 confidence intervals.