State of knowledge on the ecology and conservation of rocky outcrops in Argentina: A review

Los roquedales proveen recursos que aprovechan diferentes especies, lo cual los convierte en sitios relevantes para conservar la biodiversidad. Sin embargo, estos sistemas permanecen poco estudiados a nivel global, y la Argentina no es la excepción. Por este motivo, realizamos una revisión bibliográfica para aportar información sobre el estado del conocimiento en relación con el rol ecológico de los roquedales y sobre su importancia como elementos clave de diferentes ecosistemas argentinos. Encontramos 85 artículos que pusieron en evidencia el uso de los roquedales por diferentes especies. De ellos, sólo un tercio se enfocó en el análisis específico de estos sistemas y evaluó, principalmente, su función como hábitat para las especies, seguido por su rol como refugios y, finalmente, como sitios de interacción entre individuos. La literatura científica sugiere que en la Argentina son escasos los trabajos que evalúan de forma apropiada la importancia de los roquedales para la conservación de la biodiversidad, su contribución hacia las personas, el posible impacto antrópico sobre ellos y las acciones que se podrían tomar para favorecer su conservación y el mantenimiento de los servicios que brindan. Esta información es necesaria para diagramar estrategias de manejo adecuadas que incluyan a estos sitios. La falta de dichas estrategias se podría asociar al bajo interés que generan los roquedales como sistemas de estudio, ya que por lo general se los considera como inertes o poco relevantes. Sugerimos incentivar el estudio ecológico de estos ambientes que pueden contener organismos e interacciones novedosas. Además, proponemos acciones específicas para preservar los procesos naturales que allí suceden, y para evaluar y reducir el impacto antrópico con la finalidad de mantener sus funciones.Rocky outcrops provide resources that are used by different species and make them extremely important sites for biodiversity conservation. However, these systems remain poorly studied at a global level, and Argentina is not an exception. For this reason, we reviewed the available literature to provide the state of knowledge about the ecological role of rocky outcrops, and their importance as key landscape elements of Argentine ecosystems. Our review showed 85 articles that evidenced the use of rocky outcrops by different species. Of these, only one third focused on the specific study of these systems, evaluating mainly their function as habitat for species, followed by their role as shelters and, finally, as sites of interaction between individuals. The articles found suggest there are few studies in Argentina which properly evaluate the importance of rocky outcrops for biodiversity conservation, their contribution to people, the possible anthropic impact on them, and the actions that could be taken to favor their conservation and the maintenance of the services they provide. This information is essential for the design of adequate management policies that include these sites. The lack of these policies could be associated to a low interest aroused by those habitats as study systems, generally considered as inert or not very relevant. We suggest encouraging the ecological studies of these environments, which may contain novel organisms and interactions. In addition, we suggest specific actions for the preservation of the natural processes that take place there, and to evaluate and reduce the anthropic impact on them in order to maintain their functions.Fil: Gómez Carella, Dulce Sol. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Speziale, Karina Lilian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Lambertucci, Sergio Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; Argentin

Uncoupled evolution of male and female cone sizes in an ancient conifer lineage

Sexual functions in gymnosperms are mostly performed by separate reproductive structures, which largely reduces sexual interference and sets the scene for morphological and functional sexual specialization. The evolutionary trajectories followed by traits related to the male and female functions are therefore expected to be uncoupled. Studies on the fossil record of the conifer family Araucariaceae revealed important morphological changes occurring in reproductive cones. Here, we explored the pattern of evolution of male and female cone sizes in Araucariaceae, with a special focus on Araucaria-the most variable and widespread genus in the family. We gathered data on male and female cone sizes from fossils and extant Araucariaceae species. Focusing on Araucaria, we analyzed whether cone sizes are phylogenetically structured. Furthermore, we compared the evolutionary trajectories of male and female cone sizes by evaluating the goodness of fit of different evolutionary models. Finally, we evaluated whether different selective regimes across the phylogeny could have shaped cone morphology. Size changes in Araucariaceae occurred in both male and female cones, with the largest cones appearing in extant Araucaria. In this genus, different evolutionary models best described cone size changes, with male cone evolution best described by a model not influenced by phylogeny and female cone evolution by a stabilizing selection model with two optima. This resulted in contrasting phylogenetic signals, with female cone size being more phylogenetically structured than male cone size. Changes in cone size in Araucariaceae occurred in both male and female cones. The largest male and female cones appeared in Araucaria through uncoupled evolutionary pathways, both involving a natural selection component as a driver of evolutionary change. A contrasting pattern of phylogenetic signal in male and female cone size reflected the uncoupled evolutionary trajectories followed by these sexual structures.Fil: Gleiser, Gabriela Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Speziale, Karina Lilian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Lambertucci, Sergio Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Hiraldo, Fernando. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Estación Biológica de Doñana; EspañaFil: Tella Escobedo, José Luis. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Estación Biológica de Doñana; EspañaFil: Aizen, Marcelo Adrian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; Argentin

An overlooked plant–parakeet mutualism counteracts human overharvesting on an endangered tree

The exponential growth of the human population often causes the overexploitation of resources and disruption of ecological interactions. Here, we propose that the antagonist effect of humans on exploited species might be alleviated with the advent of a second predator species. We focused on the complex interactions between an endangered conifer (Araucaria araucana) and two seed exploiters: the Austral parakeet (Enicognathus ferrugineus) and human seed collectors. We tested the importance of partial seed consumption by parakeets as an escape from human seed harvesting. Although parakeets frequently ate whole seeds, a substantial proportion of the seeds found under trees were only partially eaten and avoided by human seed collectors. These seeds germinated at a similar proportion but faster than intact seeds under laboratory conditions. Our results revealed an overlooked mutualism between parakeets and an endangered tree. Incomplete seed eating by parakeets, plus selection against these eaten seeds by humans, may enhance regeneration possibilities for this conifer species subject to human seed collection, turning the scale of the antagonism–mutualism continuum to the mutualistic side. In this context, parakeets might be providing an important service in those forests subject to human harvesting by allowing a fraction of seeds to escape human predation.Fil: Speziale, Karina Lilian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Lambertucci, Sergio Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Gleiser, Gabriela Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Tella Escobedo, José Luis. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Estación Biológica de Doñana; EspañaFil: Hiraldo, Fernando. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Estación Biológica de Doñana; EspañaFil: Aizen, Marcelo Adrian. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentin

Rock outcrops as potential biodiversity refugia under climate change in North Patagonia

Background: Under climate-change scenarios, rock outcrops, by providing microclimatically diverse habitats, different from those of surrounding zonal vegetation matrix, may serve as climatic refugia and thereby facilitate the persistence of specialist species. Aim: We tested whether rock outcrops of southern temperate latitudes could act as local refugia for a cold-adapted flora in the face of global warming. Methods: We related species composition of 50 outcrops and that of their surrounding vegetation to climatic data at local and regional scales to establish whether species distributions reflected differences that could indicate the existence of climatic refugia. Results: While at a regional scale, species composition of the outcrops across the study area was related to mean annual precipitation and mean annual maximum temperature, locally, southern faces of outcrops had different species and lower maximum temperatures than insolated north faces and surrounding vegetation plots. Conclusions: South faces of outcrops by providing cool microhabitats, and currently harbouring species not found in the surrounding zonal vegetation matrix, could serve as local refugia for heat-intolerant plants and other microthermic organism. The degree of ‘stability’ of these refugia will depend on the degree of future change in climate. Therefore, it is important to plan protected area networks that maximise local environmental heterogeneity, including the protection of rock outcrops both as refugia for cold-adapted species and as potential stepping stones that would allow dispersal of these species between supportive environments through unfavourable ones.Fil: Speziale, Karina Lilian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Ezcurra, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentin

Need for global conservation assessments and frameworks to include airspace habitat

The pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change in the airspace.Fil: Lambertucci, Sergio Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Speziale, Karina Lilian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentin

Bromus tectorum invasion in South America: Patagonia under threat?

Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) is an aggressive invasive species posing threats to native ecosystems including increase in fire frequency, alteration of water and nutrient cycles and exclusion of native species. As such, it is important to monitor this species worldwide. However, outside the United States, it has been poorly studied. We studied this species at two scales: (i) at a local scale, evaluating the species presence and its determinants, along the ecotonal area between the steppe and the forest within north-western Patagonia, to reveal whether B. tectorum is actually invading natural ecosystems in areas comparable with those invaded in USA, and (ii) at a regional scale, through a search of literature and herbaria databases on B. tectorum in South America, to determine the current known distribution of the species in this subcontinent. Results indicate that it is already invading north-western Patagonia in Argentina, mainly in the semi-arid part of the region, and that precipitation influences the invasion process. We found that for South America, B. tectorum has been only documented in southern Argentina and Chile. Given the similarities to other invaded regions, the possibility of invasion for Patagonia has been predicted but not prevented. It is important to study changes in the invasion level where it is already established, and to encourage managers with prevention and control strategies. Combining this information with lessons from places with extensive periods of invasion could help to initiate management of the species in areas where the invasion process is beginning and before the species spreads widely.Fil: Speziale, Karina Lilian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Lambertucci, Sergio Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Ezcurra, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; Argentin

Minimizing fear of wildlife in urban areas

The likelihood of an increase in conflict between humans and wildlife as climate change intensifies is undeniable. Therefore, the role that human fear plays in these events must be considered. The reaction of humans to animals, especially in cities, is often disproportionate to the danger they pose. To minimize conflict, humans should avoid feeding wildlife, manage waste and landfills efficiently to reduce access to food resources, and keep pets responsiblyto prevent predation. In the event of an encounter, humans should be prepared to use nonlethal deterrence methods. School curricula should foster the value of living in harmony with nature from a young age. To facilitate shared, safe spaces, humans can plan wildlife-friendly urban areas. The media should also be held responsible for their presentation of wildlife; news coverage can contribute to rather than interfere with the development of healthy human-wildlife relationships. Given that humans and wildlife are likely to come into contact with increasing frequency, we should take steps to prevent persecution of native wildlife species and prepare humans to accept that in most cases it is safe to share their home without fear.Fil: Lambertucci, Sergio Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Plaza, Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Speziale, Karina Lilian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentin

Rubbish dumps as invasive plant epicentres

It is widely known that disturbed areas favour plant species invasion. However, the presence and impacts of introduced plants at rubbish dumps and landfills are less clear. We conducted a literature review to evaluate current knowledge on introduced plants species at these sites to assess their potential role as invasion epicentres. Most of the studies we found (91%) were observational and only described plant species presence in multiple landscapes, including rubbish dumps or landfills. A minority of studies ( 95%) and included in the Global Invasive Species Database or the DAISIE list. One species, Arundo donax, is among the 100 worst invasive species in the world and eight more are listed among the 100 worst invasive species in Europe. Invasive species present at these sites may alter fire regimens, produce toxic and allergen effects, outcompete native species, act as agricultural pests, and lead to economic losses. Our results are a first step to include rubbish dumps and landfills in the agenda of ecologists and managers that study invasive species, especially since compost from these sites are now being used in agricultural practices, thus possibly spreading invasive species propagules to distant locations.Fil: Plaza, Pablo. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Speziale, Karina Lilian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Lambertucci, Sergio Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; Argentin

Antagonistic-mutualistic interaction between parrots and plants in the context of global change: Biological introductions and novel ecosystems

Parrots, and their fundamental role in the ecosystems played by the gradient of antagonistic-mutualistic interactions with plant communities, are currently under threat by anthropic activities. We reviewed scientific knowledge of antagonistic-mutualistic interaction between parrot and plant species, focusing on two key global change drivers: urbanization and species introduction. For this, we analyzed the state of knowledge on plant-parrot interactions considering their origin (native or non-native), and the environment type (natural, anthropic/non-urban and anthropic/urban) where interactions were studied. We analyzed 149 articles studying interactions between 126 parrot species and 1758 plant species. Most of these articles focused on the role of parrots as predators, as dispersers and/or pollinators, though very few studies focused on the net result of more than one interaction simultaneously. Articles focused mostly on native parrots interacting with native plants; although this changed with the environment type, single studies did not compare such differences. In natural and non-urban anthropic environments native parrots interacted mostly with native species. In urban areas both native and non-native parrots interacted with plants of both origins. We, here, provide recommendations based on our results and highlight important knowledge gaps to be filled related to interactions between parrot-plant along the antagonistic-mutualistic gradient, focusing on non-native species, and anthropic environments. Understanding the full range of the ecological interactions of parrots, and how they are affected by anthropic activities, will provide us with crucial information about the functioning of the environments they live in, which is also essential for the design of effective conservation strategies.Fil: Bahia, Rocio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Lambertucci, Sergio Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Plaza, Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Speziale, Karina Lilian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; Argentin

Native species as goods

We thank Tassin and Kull (2015) for their response to our article on human use of non-native species (Speziale et al. 2014), which we hoped would generate discussion. We are disappointed, however, that their comment does not contribute new ideas and focuses on the following topics already discussed in the literature: that non-native species may be more productive than natives, that there is a need to produce certain products all over the world, and that humans depend on non-native species. We are not saying these contentions are false; rather, our proposal goes beyond them. New strategies are needed to reduce the negative consequences of the use of non-native species (Driscoll et al. 2014). In particular, Tassin and Kull “refute [our] idea of nativism,” but nativism (a term they do not define) is not the focus of our proposal. They also contend there are “unaddressed consequence of the proposal.” In fact, we addressed each of those consequences in our article. They also believe we confound non-native and invasive species, when we clearly differentiate them and their impacts. In answering their concerns, we followed the structure of their Comment.Fil: Speziale, Karina Lilian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Lambertucci, Sergio Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Souto, Cintia Paola. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Hiraldo, Fernando. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas; Españ