Do Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) prevailing over native species with climate change effects?

Global warming is facilitating the poleward range expansion of plant and animal species. In the Mediterranean Sea, the concurrent temperature increase and abundance of (sub)tropical non-indigenous species (NIS) is leading to the so-called ‘tropicalization’ of the Mediterranean Sea, which is dramatically evident in the south-eastern sectors of the basin. At the same time, the colder north-western sectors of the basin have been said to undergo a process of ‘meridionalization’, that is the establishment of warm-water native species (WWN) previously restricted to the southern sectors. The Gulf of Genoa (Ligurian Sea) is the north-western reach for southern species of whatever origin in the Mediterranean. Recent (up to 2015) observations of NIS and WWN by diving have been collated to update previous similar inventories. In addition, the relative occurrences of both groups of southern species have been monitored by snorkelling between 2009 and 2015 in shallow rocky reefs at Genoa, and compared with the trend in air and sea surface temperatures. A total of 20 southern species (11 NIS and 9 WWN) was found. Two WWN (the zebra seabream Diplodus cervinus and the parrotfish Sparisoma cretense) and three NIS (the SW Atlantic sponge Paraleucilla magna, the Red Sea polychaete Branchiomma luctuosum, and the amphi-American and amphi-Atlantic crab Percnon gibbesi) are new records for the Ligurian Sea, whereas juveniles of the Indo-Pacific bluespotted cornetfish Fistularia commersonii have been found for the first time. While temperature has kept on increasing for the whole period, with 2014 and 2015 being the warmest years since at least 1950, the number of WWN increased linearly, that of NIS increased exponentially, contradicting the idea of meridionalization and supporting that of tropicalization even in the northern sectors of the Mediterranean basin.

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Climate change driven massive extirpation of native species from the Israeli Mediterranean shelf

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13783 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Paolo G. Albano ◽

Jan Steger ◽

Marija Bošnjak ◽

Beata Dunne ◽

Zara Guifarro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Conditions ◽

Native Species ◽

Large Scale ◽

Seawater Temperature ◽

Maximum Size ◽

Extreme Environment ◽

Time Range ◽

Indigenous Species ◽

Shallow Subtidal ◽

Non Indigenous Species

<p>We quantify a large-scale extirpation of native species from the Israeli Mediterranean shelf, a region strongly affected by rapidly changing environmental conditions and the introduction of non-indigenous species, based on an extensive sampling programme of mollusks on intertidal to subtidal soft and hard substrata. We reconstruct historical species richness from shelly death assemblages, quantify the time range they cover with radiocarbon dating, and compare their richness with today&#8217;s living assemblage diversity. The median native richness is 50% of the historical richness for the intertidal, but only 8% for the subtidal down to 40 m. Samples from the mesophotic zone show a much higher median of 42%, which is likely an underestimation due to sampling constraints. In contrast, non-indigenous species show assemblages matching the historical richness. Seasonality is very strong: autumn samples, after the summer heat peak, are highly impoverished in native species but enriched in non-indigenous ones. Additionally, a comparison between today&#8217;s and historical native species maximum size shows that shallow subtidal native populations are mostly non-reproductive. In contrast, non-indigenous species reach reproductive size. These results suggest that a recent large-scale change in environmental conditions is strongly favoring non-indigenous species and is the main cause behind the shallow subtidal native species decline. Such an environmental factor is likely seawater temperature that plays a greater role in the shallow subtidal than in the cooler mesophotic zone, and affects subtidal species more than intertidal ones, pre-adapted to a climatically extreme environment.</p>

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Terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula and their responses to climate change and anthropogenic impacts

Ukrainian Antarctic Journal ◽

10.33275/1727-7485.2.2020.656 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 84-97

Author(s):

R. Bargagli ◽

Keyword(s):

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Native Species ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Extreme Temperature ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽

Indigenous Species ◽

Non Indigenous Species ◽

Food Web Complexity ◽

The Antarctic

Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are unique natural laboratories where organisms adapted to extreme environmental conditions have evolved in isolation for millions of years. These unique biotic communities on Earth are facing complex climatic and environmental changes. Terrestrial ecosystems in the Antarctic Peninsula Region (APR) have experienced the highest rate of climate warming and, being the most impacted by human activities, are facing the greatest risk of detrimental changes. This review provides an overview of the most recent findings on how biotic communities in terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula Region (APR) are responding and will likely respond to further environmental changes and direct anthropogenic impacts. Knowledge gained from studies on relatively simple terrestrial ecosystems could be very useful in predicting what may happen in much more complex ecosystems in regions with less extreme temperature changes. The rapid warming of the APR has led to the retreat of glaciers, the loss of snow and permafrost and the increase of ice-free areas, with a consequent enhancement of soil-forming processes, biotic communities, and food web complexity. However, most human activity is concentrated in APR coastal ice-free areas and poses many threats to terrestrial ecosystems such as environmental pollution or disturbances to soilcommunities and wildlife. People who work or visit APR may inadvertently introduce alien organisms and/or spread native species to spatially isolated ice-free areas. The number of introduced non-indigenous species and xenobiotic compounds in the APR is likely to be greater than currently documented, and several biosecurity and monitoring activities are therefore suggested to Antarctic national scientific programs and tourism operators to minimize the risk of irreversible loss of integrity by the unique terrestrial ecosystems of APR.

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Comparative feeding behaviour of native and introduced terrestrial snails tracks their ecological impacts

NeoBiota ◽

10.3897/neobiota.47.35000 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 47 ◽

pp. 81-94 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tedi Hoxha ◽

Steve Crookes ◽

Ian MacIsaac ◽

Xuexiu Chang ◽

Mattias Johansson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Response ◽

Feeding Behaviour ◽

Native Species ◽

Ecological Impact ◽

Land Snails ◽

Ecological Impacts ◽

Food Type ◽

Indigenous Species ◽

Competitive Abilities ◽

Non Indigenous Species

A developing body of theory and empirical evidence suggest that feeding behaviour as measured by the functional response (FR) can assist researchers in assessing the relative potential, ecological impacts and competitive abilities of native and introduced species. Here, we explored the FRs of two land snails that occur in south-western Ontario, one native (Mesodonthyroidus) and one non-indigenous (Cepaeanemoralis) to Canada. The non-indigenous species appears to have low ecological impact and inferior competitive abilities. Consistent with theory, while both species conformed to Type II functional responses, the native species had a significantly higher attack rate (5.30 vs 0.41, respectively) and slightly lower handling time (0.020 vs 0.023), and hence a higher maximum feeding rate (50.0 vs 43.5). The non-indigenous species exhibited a significantly longer time to contact for a variety of food types, and appeared less discriminating of paper that was offered as a non-food type. The non-indigenous species also ate significantly less food when in mixed species trials with the native snail. These feeding patterns match the known low ecological impact of the introduced snail and are consistent with the view that it is an inferior competitor relative to the native species. However, field experimentation is required to clarify whether the largely microallopatric distributions of the two species in south-western Ontario reflect competitive dominance by the native species or other factors such as habitat preference, feeding preferences or predator avoidance. The relative patterns of feeding behaviour and ecological impact are, however, fully in line with recent functional response theory and application.

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Non-indigenous marine macroalgae in native communities: a case study in the British Isles

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315408001409 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 88 (4) ◽

pp. 693-698 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Frederic Mineur ◽

Mark P. Johnson ◽

Christine A. Maggs

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Northern Ireland ◽

Community Composition ◽

Native Species ◽

Positive Relationship ◽

Marine Macroalgae ◽

Indigenous Species ◽

Species Introduction ◽

Southern England ◽

Non Indigenous Species

It has traditionally been considered that areas with high natural species richness are likely to be more resistant to non-indigenous species than those with lower numbers of species. However, this theory has been the subject of a debate over the last decade, since some studies have shown the opposite trend. In the present study, a macroalgal survey was carried out at 24 localities in Northern Ireland and southern England, using a quadrat approach in the lower littoral. The two opposing hypotheses were tested (negative versus positive relationship between native and non-indigenous species richness) in this marine environment. The effect of the presence of ‘impacts’, potential sources of disturbance and species introduction (e.g. marina, harbour or aquaculture), was also tested. A positive relationship was found between the number of non-indigenous species and the native species richness at the three different scales tested (quadrats, sites and localities). At no scale did a richer native assemblage appear to restrict the establishment of introduced species. The analyses revealed greater species richness and different community composition, as well as more non-indigenous species, in southern England relative to Northern Ireland. The presence of the considered impacts had an effect on the community composition and species richness in southern England but not in Northern Ireland. Such impacts had no effect on the non-indigenous species richness in either area.

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Climate change and its possible influence on the occurrence and importance of insect pests

Plant Protection Science ◽

10.17221/2829-pps ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 45 (Special Issue) ◽

pp. S53-S62 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Z. Laštůvka

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Insect Pests ◽

Food Preferences ◽

Insect Species ◽

Indigenous Species ◽

Weather Extremes ◽

The Czech Republic ◽

Crop Cultivation ◽

Low Humidity ◽

Non Indigenous Species

Insect pests, as widely tolerant and adaptable organisms, may be less distinctly affected by climate change than other insect species. The changing climate may affect the occurrence and impact of the native pests both negatively and positively (increased importance of thermophilous and xerophilous species and decreased importance of psychrophilous ones, noxious abundances of several species also in higher altitudes, decrease of many pests by frost-free winters, low humidity, weather extremes, increased numbers of antagonists, and phenological discrepancy with the host plant). Expansions of new pests into the territory of the Czech Republic, caused by climate change, will be very limited. A small number of greenhouse pests may be expected to occur in outdoor conditions. Increased temperatures may cause a slight increase of non-indigenous invasive insect species and migratory pests. In Central Europe the climate change will intensify the effects of other factors. In the next 20–50 years, the changes in species composition and importance of insect pests of plants will be caused by factors in the following order: (l) introductions of non-indigenous species, (2) new approaches in pest control, (3–4) changes in crop cultivation and representation of crops, (3–4) climate change, (5) other causes (unexpected shifts of ranges, changes in food preferences of insect species, etc.).

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Species richness and interacting factors control invasibility of a marine community

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2015.0439 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 282 (1812) ◽

pp. 20150439 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

M. L. Marraffini ◽

J. B. Geller

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Native Species ◽

Biotic Resistance ◽

Marine Species ◽

Indigenous Species ◽

Total Species Richness ◽

Species Recruitment ◽

Non Indigenous Species ◽

Total Species

Anthropogenic vectors have moved marine species around the world leading to increased invasions and expanded species' ranges. The biotic resistance hypothesis of Elton (in The ecology of invasions by animals and plants , 1958) predicts that more diverse communities should have greater resistance to invasions, but experiments have been equivocal. We hypothesized that species richness interacts with other factors to determine experimental outcomes. We manipulated species richness, species composition (native and introduced) and availability of bare space in invertebrate assemblages in a marina in Monterey, CA. Increased species richness significantly interacted with both initial cover of native species and of all organisms to collectively decrease recruitment. Although native species decreased recruitment, introduced species had a similar effect, and we concluded that biotic resistance is conferred by total species richness. We suggest that contradictory conclusions in previous studies about the role of diversity in regulating invasions reflect uncontrolled variables in those experiments that modified the effect of species richness. Our results suggest that patches of low diversity and abundance may facilitate invasions, and that such patches, once colonized by non-indigenous species, can resist both native and non-indigenous species recruitment.

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Impacts of climate change on diversity in forested ecosystems: Some examples

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc81655-5 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 81 (5) ◽

pp. 655-661 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Paul A Gray

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Genetic Diversity ◽

Genotypic Variation ◽

High Rate ◽

Indigenous Species ◽

Northern Latitudes ◽

Key Words Climate Change ◽

Composition Structure ◽

And Function ◽

Non Indigenous Species

Ecological diversity (the product of ecosystem, species, and genetic diversity) will change significantly in the 21st Century in response to the combined influence of climate, human activities, the movement of indigenous and non-indigenous species, and natural disturbances like fire (also modified by climate). Many species will acclimate (phenotypic variation) and/or adapt (genotypic variation) to changing conditions. Many will not. Species with a high rate of reproduction that are able to move long distances, rapidly colonize new habitats, tolerate humans, and survive within a broad range of biophysical conditions will be most successful in finding new niches. Large changes in ecosystem composition, structure, and function are expected to occur at northern latitudes and higher altitudes. In some areas novel ecosystems likely will replace existing subalpine, alpine, boreal forest, and tundra ecosystems. Key words: climate change, ecodiversity, forest, ecosystem diversity, species diversity, genetic diversity

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