Biological invasions are among the most persistent and costly of environmental issues.

They are
known to occur at both small and large spatial scales, and in various ecosystem types. Their
widespread occurrences have constituted them a significant component of global environmental
change (Vitousek et al, 1996) and as such, they have received great attention in the past half century
with respect to research and management. At small spatial scales; diverse and highly competitive
communities are considered less susceptible to invasive species. This is known as the diversity
resistance hypothesis and is supported by both theory and environmental studies. Furthermore, it
has come to light that there exists a positive relationship between native species diversity and
invasive species on a regional scale (Kennedy et al, 2002). In this article, we will explore several case
studies that reiterate this concept and bring to light the reasons as to why it so.
To test for a relationship between biodiversity and invasion resistance (independent of extrinsic
factors) in localized neighbourhood plant species, (Kennedy et al, 2002) examined how species
richness influenced properties of neighbourhood plants, and in turn, how this affected success rates
of exotic species attempting to invade the experimental plots. They discovered that local diversity
increased species richness and crowding in neighbourhood communities, and this enhanced
resistance to invasion by significantly reducing the number of invaders (establishment) and
proportion of larger invaders (success) (see Figure 1). (Oakley and Knox, 2013) also reported similar
findings while studying grassland communities. They discovered that a correlation between
increased species richness and increased resistance to invasion after realizing that diversity and
abundance of invasive species were lowest in plots that had higher diversity of resident species.
They attributed this to the fact that resident species occupied more space and consumed more
resources, therefore limiting invasive species to flourishing.

Figure 1) Effects of plot diversity on a) number of invaders b) and largest individual invader

This idea of competition for resources being a limiting factor for invasions is also reflected in a study
conducted by (Dirk van Elsas, 2011) that involved looking at microbial communities in soil. They
discovered a significant inverse relationship between invader survival and species richness (Figure 2).
They emphasized this relationship as being a result of the establishment of invading species being a
function of the amount of limiting resources that are left unconsumed by native species; as well as
the rate at which species consumed the resources. To explain the effect of microbial diversity on an
invasive species, the competitive ability of the invader (E.coli) was examined in the presence of
bacterial communities (of increasing richness) with focus on a single niche factor (carbon source).
Dissimilarities in utilization of carbon were used as an indicator of competitive ability. It was found
that as species richness increased, competitive ability of E.coli decreased, with diverse communities
more efficient at gathering resources, and also at a higher rate than invasive species.

Figure 2) Invader (E.coli) plotted against species richness of bacterial species
(Case, 1990) also argued for the case of the diversity resistance hypothesis. His work involved
assemblages of communities that mimicked a Lotka-Volterra competition system. They differed in
native species numbers and average strength (and variance) of species interactions; and were
randomly invaded. Probability of invaders successfully colonizing decreased with community size
and structure, as they are composed of species that strongly interact and limit outside species.
Exotic species invaded at low numbers and this set a state that was advantageous for native species
to actively bar invading competitors. It was considered a priority effect that benefitted resident
species because they were diverse and interacted strongly to create alternative stable states that
tended to disfavour unfamiliar species at low densities (i.e. exotic invaders). In natural systems,
invasion success is a function of invader and community attributes. (Case, 1990) alluded to his work
as reflecting the idea of community properties playing a stronger part in determining invader success
rates. Figure 3 reflects his findings and demonstrates how invader success rates decline with
increasing community structure (that is species richness).


Figure 3) Frequency of invader success, augmentation, and replacement events as a function of size
(number of species) of the community being invaded; A and B are reflective of a uniformly
distributed community at different scales, while C represents a community with overlapping
resources.