The Main Ecological Characteristics of a Species Introduced to Martinique in a Dynamic of Invasion: Funtumia Elastica (Preuss) Stapf (Apocynaceae)

Abstract

Introduced species that become invasive alter the structural and functional organisation of the ecosystems of the host territories because of the absence of certain ecological locks. On a global scale, the consequences are very damaging for many key development-related sectors. Martinique, like all the islands of the Caribbean, is not immune to this phenomenon of biological invasion currently linked to greater globalisation. Among the potentially invasive introduced species and in the light of field observations, Funtumia elastica, native to tropical Africa, appears to have functional traits that could make it a species that is dangerous for local floristic diversity. Since no study exists in Martinique on the ecology of this taxon, we have set up a research protocol based on floristic surveys in various stations marked out by transects subdivided into quadrats. Using the data obtained, it has been possible to highlight the main features of the ecology of this species in terms of biodemography, ecological dominance, mesological affinities and of belonging to the different stages of vegetal succession.