Phenotypic differentiation among native, expansive and introduced populations influences invasion success

AbstractOne of the fundamental questions in invasion biology is to understand the genetic mechanisms behind success or failure during the establishment of a species. However, major limitations to understanding are usually a lack of spatiotemporal population data and information on the populations’ colonisation history. In a large-scale, detailed study on the bush-cricket Metrioptera roeselii 70 groups of founders were introduced in areas outside the species’ distribution range. We examined how (1) the number of founders (2–32 individuals), (2) the time since establishment (7 or 15 years after introduction) and (3) possible gene flow affected establishment success and temporal genetic changes of the introduced populations. We found higher establishment success in introductions with larger propagule sizes but genetic diversity indices were only partly correlated to propagule size. As expected, introduced populations were more similar to their founder population the larger the propagule size was. However, even if apparent at first, most of the differentiation in the small propagule introductions disappeared over time. Surprisingly, genetic variability was regained to a level comparable to the large and outbreeding founder population only 15 generations after severe demographic bottlenecks. We suggest that the establishment of these populations could be a result of several mechanisms acting in synergy. Here, rapid increase in genetic diversity of few introductions could potentially be attributed to limited gene flow from adjacent populations, behavioural adaptations and/or even increased mutation rate. We present unique insights into genetic processes that point towards traits that are important for understanding species’ invasiveness.

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Root flavonoids are related to enhanced AMF colonization of an invasive tree

AoB Plants ◽

10.1093/aobpla/plaa002 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Yingchun Pei ◽

Evan Siemann ◽

Baoliang Tian ◽

Jianqing Ding

Keyword(s):

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Invasive Plants ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽

Plant Invasions ◽

Invasion Success ◽

Chemical Mechanism ◽

Introduced Populations ◽

Native Populations ◽

Invasive Tree

Abstract Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are important mutualistic microbes in soil, which have capacity to form mutualistic associations with most land plants. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi play an important role in plant invasions and their interactions with invasive plants have received increasing attention. However, the chemical mechanisms underlying the interactions of AMF and invasive plants are still poorly understood. In this study we aim to test whether root secondary chemicals are related to enhanced AMF colonization and rapid growth in an invasive tree. We conducted a common garden experiment in China with Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) to examine the relationships among AMF colonization and secondary metabolites in roots of plants from introduced (USA) and native (China) populations. We found that AMF colonization rate was higher in introduced populations compared to native populations. Roots of plants from introduced populations had lower levels of phenolics and tannins, but higher levels of flavonoids than those of plants from native populations. Flavonoids were positively correlated with AMF colonization, and this relationship was especially strong for introduced populations. Besides, AMF colonization was positively correlated with plant biomass suggesting that higher root flavonoids and AMF colonization may impact plant performance. This suggests that higher root flavonoids in plants from introduced populations may promote AMF spore germination and/or attract hyphae to their roots, which may subsequently increase plant growth. Overall, our results support a scenario in which invasive plants enhance their AMF association and invasion success via genetic changes in their root flavonoid metabolism. These findings advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying plant invasion success and the evolutionary interactions between plants and AMF. Understanding such mechanisms of invasive plant success is critical for predicting and managing plant invasions in addition to providing important insights into the chemical mechanism of AMF–plant interactions.

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Parasites and marine invasions

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182002001506 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 124 (7) ◽

pp. 137-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 158

Author(s):

M. E. TORCHIN ◽

K. D. LAFFERTY ◽

A. M. KURIS

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Marine Species ◽

Economic Problem ◽

Invasion Success ◽

Native Range ◽

Marine Systems ◽

Introduced Populations ◽

Marine Invasions ◽

Introduced Range ◽

Marine Parasites

Introduced marine species are a major environmental and economic problem. The rate of these biological invasions has substantially increased in recent years due to the globalization of the world's economies. The damage caused by invasive species is often a result of the higher densities and larger sizes they attain compared to where they are native. A prominent hypothesis explaining the success of introduced species is that they are relatively free of the effects of natural enemies. Most notably, they may encounter fewer parasites in their introduced range compared to their native range. Parasites are ubiquitous and pervasive in marine systems, yet their role in marine invasions is relatively unexplored. Although data on parasites of marine organisms exist, the extent to which parasites can mediate marine invasions, or the extent to which invasive parasites and pathogens are responsible for infecting or potentially decimating native marine species have not been examined. In this review, we present a theoretical framework to model invasion success and examine the evidence for a relationship between parasite presence and the success of introduced marine species. For this, we compare the prevalence and species richness of parasites in several introduced populations of marine species with populations where they are native. We also discuss the potential impacts of introduced marine parasites on native ecosystems.

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Geographical range, heat tolerance and invasion success in aquatic species

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2013.1958 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 280 (1772) ◽

pp. 20131958 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Amanda E. Bates ◽

Catherine M. McKelvie ◽

Cascade J. B. Sorte ◽

Simon A. Morley ◽

Nicholas A. R. Jones ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heat Tolerance ◽

Native Species ◽

Marine Invertebrates ◽

Invasion Success ◽

Geographical Range ◽

Freshwater Species ◽

Widespread Occurrence ◽

Introduced Populations ◽

Heat Tolerant ◽

Latitudinal Range

Species with broader geographical ranges are expected to be ecological generalists, while species with higher heat tolerances may be relatively competitive at more extreme and increasing temperatures. Thus, both traits are expected to relate to increased survival during transport to new regions of the globe, and once there, establishment and spread. Here, we explore these expectations using datasets of latitudinal range breadth and heat tolerance in freshwater and marine invertebrates and fishes. After accounting for the latitude and hemisphere of each species’ native range, we find that species introduced to freshwater systems have broader geographical ranges in comparison to native species. Moreover, introduced species are more heat tolerant than related native species collected from the same habitats. We further test for differences in range breadth and heat tolerance in relation to invasion success by comparing species that have established geographically restricted versus extensive introduced distributions. We find that geographical range size is positively related to invasion success in freshwater species only. However, heat tolerance is implicated as a trait correlated to widespread occurrence of introduced populations in both freshwater and marine systems. Our results emphasize the importance of formal risk assessments before moving heat tolerant species to novel locations.

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Invasion success and genetic diversity of introduced populations of guppies Poecilia reticulata in Australia

Molecular Ecology ◽

10.1111/j.1365-294x.2005.02697.x ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 14 (12) ◽

pp. 3671-3682 ◽

Cited By ~ 110

Author(s):

ANNA K. LINDHOLM ◽

FELIX BREDEN ◽

HEATHER J. ALEXANDER ◽

WOON-KHIONG CHAN ◽

SUMITA G. THAKURTA ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Poecilia Reticulata ◽

Invasion Success ◽

Introduced Populations

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Record of the Non-native Suckermouth armored catfish hybrid Pterygoplichthys pardalis (Castelnau,1985) x Pterygoplichtys disjunctivus (Weber, 1991) (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) in Honduras

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4778.3.10 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4778 (3) ◽

pp. 593-599

Author(s):

CLAUDIA C. LARDIZABAL ◽

EDIS M. BENITEZ ◽

WILFREDO A. MATAMOROS

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Reproductive Traits ◽

Reproductive Period ◽

Water Levels ◽

The Body ◽

Invasion Success ◽

Cold Weather ◽

Introduced Populations ◽

Short Period ◽

Moist Habitat

Loricariidae is the largest catfish family, with over 1000 species and 80 genera (Fricke & Eschmeyer, 2019). Sailfin catfishes of the genus Pterygoplichthys are armored catfishes, native to temperate and tropical areas of South America, especially the Amazon (Wakida-Kusunoki & del Angel, 2011). Two species of this genus (Pterygoplichthys pardalis (Castelanu, 1855) and P. disjunctivus (Weber, 1991)) are naturally distributed in South America along the lower, middle and upper basin of the entire Amazon River (Wakida-Kusunoki & del Angel, 2008). These armored catfishes, typified by the presence of ossified plates through the body, are considered very successful invaders of rivers and lakes outside their natural range. Their invasion success has been attributed to their morphology, behavior and life history. For instance, their ability to withstand droughts and cold weather by using burrows in river and lake banks they can survive in the moist habitat even when water levels decrease below the opening of the burrows, these survival characteristics of harsh conditions enable them to thrive in native and non-native grounds (Burgess 1989; Hoover & Killgore 2004; Nico & Martin 2001; Sandoval-Huerta et al. 2012). Furthermore, their rapid growth during their first years of life, their reproductive traits such as an extended reproductive period, high egg yield (Rueda-Jasso et al. 2013), and the capability of achieving reproductive maturity at smaller size (Wei et al. 2017) allow introduced populations to become abundant in a short period of time.

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Enhanced Fire-Related Traits May Contribute to the Invasiveness of Downy Brome (Bromus tectorum)

Invasive Plant Science and Management ◽

10.1614/ipsm-d-16-00006.1 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 182-194 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Annamária Fenesi ◽

Sandra Saura-Mas ◽

Robert R. Blank ◽

Anita Kozma ◽

Beáta-Magdolna Lózer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

North America ◽

Great Basin ◽

Fire Regime ◽

Invasion Success ◽

Downy Brome ◽

Introduced Populations ◽

Heat Shocks ◽

In Fire ◽

European Populations

Although several invasive species have induced changes to the fire regime of invaded communities, potential intraspecific shifts in fire-related traits that might enhance the invasion success of these species have never been addressed. We assumed that traits conferring persistence and competitiveness in postfire conditions to downy brome, a quintessential invasive species of the Great Basin (North America), might be under selection in areas with recurrent fires. Therefore, we hypothesized that populations from frequently burned regions of the Great Basin would have (1) greater tolerance to fire at seed level, (2) higher relative seedling performance in postfire environments, and (3) greater flammability than unburned Central European populations that evolved without fire. Seeds were collected from three introduced populations from frequently burned regions in North America and three introduced populations of rarely or never burned sites from Central Europe. We performed (1) germination experiments with seeds subjected to the effect of different fire components (heat shocks, smoke, flame, ash), (2) pot experiments analyzing the effect of postfire conditions on the early growth of the seedlings, and (3) a series of flammability tests on dry biomass of plants reared in a common garden. All seeds tolerated the low-temperature treatments (40 to 100 C), but were destroyed at high heat shocks (140 and 160 C). Only the 100 C heat treatment caused a difference in reaction of seeds from different continents, as the European seeds were less tolerant to this heat shock. We found significantly increased seedling height and biomass after 4 wk of growth under postfire conditions in American populations, but not in European ones. American populations had enhanced flammability in three out of five measured parameters compared to European populations. In summary, these intraspecific differences in fire-related traits might contribute to the persistence and perhaps invasiveness of the frequently burned North American downy brome populations.

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