Trends and challenges in alternative states in freshwater ecosystems: emphasizing the role of invasive species in state shifts.

Abstract

Despite growing interest in the effects of non-native invasive species in changing alternative trophic states in shallow lakes, little is known when it comes to tropical regions. We carried out a systematic review to identify which terms, species, definitions and objectives were most addressed in these studies, as well as to identify possible global patterns and trends regarding the growth of these research over the years and the hot spots of publications. Our results showed that although there was a non-linear growth in the number of studies published in the last three decades regarding state shifts in freshwater environments, only a small number of them addresses the influence that non-native invasive species have in triggering trophic states changes in aquatic environments and even less in shallow lakes. In our discussion, we explore the possible reasons and consequences that these patterns bring to this area of ecology, as well as expand the results and make the work available so that it can be used as recomendation for future projects related to the topic.