Small‐seeded plant species are often reported to have high relative growth rate or RGR. However, because RGR declines as plants grow larger, small‐seeded species could achieve higher RGR simply by virtue of their small size. In contrast, size‐standardized growth rate or SGR factors out these size effects. Differences in SGR can thus only be due to differences in morphology, allocation, or physiology. We used nonlinear regressi...

Ecology Letters (2009) 12: 1379–1384 Abstract Growth rates play a fundamental role in many areas of biology (Q. Rev. Biol., 67, 1992, 283; Life History Invariants. Some Explorations of Symmetry in Evolutionary Biology, 1993; Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci., 351, 1996, 1341; Plant Strategies, Vegetation Processes, and Ecosystem Properties, 2002; Trends Ecol. Evol., 18, 2003, 471; Q. Rev. Biol., 78, 2003, 23; J. Ecol.,...

Maximum rates of phosphate, nitrate, and ammonium uptake by a reef flat community were estimated from rates of frictional dissipation that were calculated from the attenuation of waves propagating over the Kaneohe Bay Barrier Reef flat. Time‐averaged flow speeds across the entire study area ranged from 0.08 to 0.22 m s −1 . Observed decreases in wave energy fluxes and near‐bottom orbital velocities gave a mean estimate for the...

Management of nonindigenous species is a crucial aspect of maintaining native biodiversity and normal ecosystem functions. We attempt to guide researchers in developing projects that will be of use to conservation practitioners, tangibly improving applied conservation measures. We advocate a directed approach for conservation research to aid in prioritizing nonindigenous species for intervention by resource managers. This appr...