The phenology of plant invasions: a community ecology perspective

Community ecologists have long recognized the importance of phenology (the timing of periodic life-history events) in structuring communities. Phenological differences between exotic and native species may contribute to the success of invaders, yet a general theory for how phenology may shape invasions has not been developed. Shifts toward longer growing seasons, tracked by plant and animal species worldwide, heighten the need for this analysis. The concurrent availability of extensive citizen-science and long-term datasets has created tremendous opportunities to test the relationship between phenology and invasion. Here, we (1) extend major theories within community and invasion biology to include phenology, (2) develop a predictive framework to test these theories, and (3) outline available data resources to test predictions. By creating an integrated framework, we show how new analyses of long-term datasets could advance the fields of community ecology and invasion biology, while developing novel strategies for invasive species management. Although we focus here on terrestrial plants, our framework has clear extensions to animal communities and aquatic ecosystems as well.