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Conditions Which Enhance Invasive Potential

Conditions e.g. climate change that result in rapid growth and early sexual maturity resulting in:
- High reproductive output
- High dispersal of young
Tolerance of a broad range of environmental conditions
High phenotypic plasticity and allelopathy (the ability to alter one's growth to suit current conditions)
Association with humans; in particular humans repeated patterns of movements from one location to another allow for species to have multiple opportunities for establishment (i.e. a high propagule pressure)
Where a species can manipulate its environment through chemicals or manipulation of abiotic factors, usually to make it less favourable for other species to compete.
- Changes in fire regimes e.g. moorland management through burning, is another form of facilitation. Normal succession would favour certain native grasses but with the introduction of a species that can multiply and spread faster than native species, the balance is changed.(N and P are often limiting factors in this type of situation)
- Habitat modification can also benefit other species e.g. zebra mussels increase habitat complexity and nutrition from waste products of filter feeding to increase the diversity and density of invertebrate communities

Disturbed landscape often prone to INNS with adverse effects on local ecosystems
Multiple successive introductions of different INNS can have interactive effects where the introduction of a second INNS can enable the first INNS to flourish
Invasive species can change the functions of ecosystems and if closely related to native species can hybridise with harmful effects even extinction of local species