Geographical range, heat tolerance and invasion success in aquatic species
07 Dec 2013-Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (The Royal Society)-Vol. 280, Iss: 1772, pp 20131958-20131958
TL;DR: It is found that species introduced to freshwater systems have broader geographical ranges in comparison to native species, and introduced species are more heat tolerant than related native species collected from the same habitats.
Abstract: 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.
Citations
More filters
01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: Earth mean surface temperature has increased by 1 °C since the industrial revolution, and this has already had considerable effects on animal and plant species.
Abstract: Earth mean surface temperature has increased by 1 °C since the industrial revolution, and this has already had considerable effects on animal and plant species. Ecological responses to the warming ...
4 citations
Cites background from "Geographical range, heat tolerance ..."
...Invasive species often have higher thermal tolerance than native species (Bates et al., 2013)....
[...]
TL;DR: It is concluded that, while other biological or physical processes are likely to create the patches within kelp canopies where P. mccullochi territories are established, the species appears to have a strong and extensive influence in maintaining lower standing crop and higher diversity in turfforming algal assemblages in this temperate region.
Abstract: Species belonging to the family Pomacentridae play a key role in altering algal assemblages in tropical systems, but our understanding about this family’s role in temperate systems is limited. We examine the role of the abundant and territorial pomacentrid Parma mccullochi as an herbivore in temperate waters of southwestern Australia. Through dietary ana lyses, we showed that this species consumed predominantly red foliose and filamentous algae that were positively selected based on electivity indices. The species composition of macroalgae differed significantly between inside and outside P. mccullochi territories, with commonly ingested algae such as Hypnea spp. characterising the territory assemblages, while brown algae such as kelp Ecklonia radiata, and other foliose or coralline red algae characterised reef area outside the territories. Total algal biomass was significantly lower, while species richness was higher, inside compared to outside territories. In contrast, a caging experiment inside P. mccullochi territories showed that species composition, species richness and biomass of recruiting algae did not differ significantly in treatments where damselfishes were excluded or able to forage. A visual census indicated that P. mccullochi territories covered nearly 40% of the reef in the study region. We conclude that, while other biological or physical processes are likely to create the patches within kelp canopies where P. mccullochi territories are established, the species appears to have a strong and extensive influence in maintaining lower standing crop and higher diversity in turfforming algal assemblages in this temperate region. Understanding the role of herbivores in temperate regions is becoming increasingly important due to the effects of climate change through the shifting ranges of tropical species into temperate systems.
4 citations
Cites background from "Geographical range, heat tolerance ..."
...Indeed, the diversity, abundance and grazing rates of herbivorous fishes has been regarded as low in temperate regions due to temperature-limited digestive processes (e.g. Floeter et al. 2005, Bates et al. 2013), but this conclusion is highly contentious (Clements et al. 2009)....
[...]
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors investigated the thermal tolerance of the invasive blue crab Callinectes sapidus to a wide temperature range in the Mediterranean Sea and showed that at the highest temperatures (> to 30°C, a pointed increase in the respiration rate values was observed from 32°C before the organisms death at 40°C.
Abstract: One of the consequences of climate change and globalization is the recent proliferation of the invasive blue crab Callinectes sapidus in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, C. sapidus thermal tolerance was investigated through experiments based on species metabolic response (measuring respiration rates) to a wide temperature range. Based on metabolic rates, Thermal Habitat Suitability (THS) maps were performed on current and futures temperature conditions in the Mediterranean Sea. Thermal Performance Curve showed a CTmax at 40°C and an optimum at 24°C. Respiration rate increased between 12°C and 24°C and decreased until 30°C. At the highest temperatures (> to 30°C) a pointed increase in the respiration rate values was observed from 32°C before the organisms’ death at 40°C. Predictive maps showed that the whole basin shows suitable conditions for population maintenances of C. sapidus in all used warming scenarios. The future scenarios show a mean increase of +0.2 of the THS over the year. The present study increases the understanding of the ecological performance and potential distribution of C. sapidus. This information will contribute to the design and implementation of risk assessment and management plans of this impactful crustacean in the Mediterranean Sea.
3 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of rapid climate change across the globe is having dramatic effects on wildlife, and responses of organisms to shifting thermal conditions often include physiological and behavioural accommodations, but t...
Abstract: Rapid climate change across the globe is having dramatic effects on wildlife. Responses of organisms to shifting thermal conditions often include physiological and behavioural accommodations, but t...
3 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: Given their current scale, biotic invasions have taken their place alongside human-driven atmospheric and oceanic alterations as major agents of global change and left unchecked, they will influence these other forces in profound but still unpredictable ways.
Abstract: Biotic invaders are species that establish a new range in which they proliferate, spread, and persist to the detriment of the environment. They are the most important ecological outcomes from the unprecedented alterations in the distribution of the earth's biota brought about largely through human transport and commerce. In a world without borders, few if any areas remain sheltered from these im- migrations. The fate of immigrants is decidedly mixed. Few survive the hazards of chronic and stochastic forces, and only a small fraction become naturalized. In turn, some naturalized species do become invasive. There are several potential reasons why some immigrant species prosper: some escape from the constraints of their native predators or parasites; others are aided by human-caused disturbance that disrupts native communities. Ironically, many biotic invasions are apparently facilitated by cultivation and husbandry, unintentional actions that foster immigrant populations until they are self-perpetuating and uncontrollable. Whatever the cause, biotic invaders can in many cases inflict enormous environmental damage: (1) Animal invaders can cause extinctions of vulnerable native species through predation, grazing, competition, and habitat alteration. (2) Plant invaders can completely alter the fire regime, nutrient cycling, hydrology, and energy budgets in a native ecosystem and can greatly diminish the abundance or survival of native species. (3) In agriculture, the principal pests of temperate crops are nonindigenous, and the combined expenses of pest control and crop losses constitute an onerous "tax" on food, fiber, and forage production. (4) The global cost of virulent plant and animal diseases caused by parasites transported to new ranges and presented with susceptible new hosts is currently incalculable. Identifying future invaders and taking effective steps to prevent their dispersal and establishment con- stitutes an enormous challenge to both conservation and international commerce. Detection and management when exclusion fails have proved daunting for varied reasons: (1) Efforts to identify general attributes of future invaders have often been inconclusive. (2) Predicting susceptible locales for future invasions seems even more problematic, given the enormous differences in the rates of arrival among potential invaders. (3) Eradication of an established invader is rare, and control efforts vary enormously in their efficacy. Successful control, however, depends more on commitment and continuing diligence than on the efficacy of specific tools themselves. (4) Control of biotic invasions is most effective when it employs a long-term, ecosystem- wide strategy rather than a tactical approach focused on battling individual invaders. (5) Prevention of invasions is much less costly than post-entry control. Revamping national and international quarantine laws by adopting a "guilty until proven innocent" approach would be a productive first step. Failure to address the issue of biotic invasions could effectively result in severe global consequences, including wholesale loss of agricultural, forestry, and fishery resources in some regions, disruption of the ecological processes that supply natural services on which human enterprise depends, and the creation of homogeneous, impoverished ecosystems composed of cosmopolitan species. Given their current scale, biotic invasions have taken their place alongside human-driven atmospheric and oceanic alterations as major agents of global change. Left unchecked, they will influence these other forces in profound but still unpredictable ways.
6,195 citations
TL;DR: Active adaptive management and governance of resilience will be required to sustain desired ecosystem states and transform degraded ecosystems.
Abstract: ▪ Abstract We review the evidence of regime shifts in terrestrial and aquatic environments in relation to resilience of complex adaptive ecosystems and the functional roles of biological diversity in this context. The evidence reveals that the likelihood of regime shifts may increase when humans reduce resilience by such actions as removing response diversity, removing whole functional groups of species, or removing whole trophic levels; impacting on ecosystems via emissions of waste and pollutants and climate change; and altering the magnitude, frequency, and duration of disturbance regimes. The combined and often synergistic effects of those pressures can make ecosystems more vulnerable to changes that previously could be absorbed. As a consequence, ecosystems may suddenly shift from desired to less desired states in their capacity to generate ecosystem services. Active adaptive management and governance of resilience will be required to sustain desired ecosystem states and transform degraded ecosystems...
3,297 citations
"Geographical range, heat tolerance ..." refers background in this paper
...Introduced species have been implicated in causing biodiversity loss [4], regime shifts [5] and extinctions [6], all of which can impact human resources and economic activity [7]....
[...]
TL;DR: Although restricted to few taxa, these studies reveal clear relationships between the characteristics of releases and the species involved, and the successful establishment and spread of invaders.
Abstract: Predicting which species are probable invaders has been a long-standing goal of ecologists, but only recently have quantitative methods been used to achieve such a goal. Although restricted to few taxa, these studies reveal clear relationships between the characteristics of releases and the species involved, and the successful establishment and spread of invaders. For example, the probability of bird establishment increases with the number of individuals released and the number of release events. Also, the probability of plant invasiveness increases if the species has a history of invasion and reproduces vegetatively. These promising quantitative approaches should be more widely applied to allow us to predict patterns of invading species more successfully.
2,698 citations
01 Jan 2009
2,607 citations
"Geographical range, heat tolerance ..." refers methods in this paper
...See http://CRAN.R-project. org/package=MuMIn....
[...]
...The 80% confidence model set (table S3) was calculated with the package “MuMIn” [24] and the function model....
[...]
...Bartoń K. 2009 MuMIn: Multi-model inference....
[...]
...The 80% confidence model set (see electronic supplementary material, table S3) was calculated with the package ‘MuMIn’ [23] and the function model.avg....
[...]
TL;DR: Studies of physiological mechanisms are needed to predict climate effects on ecosystems at species and community levels and to help scientists understand the drivers of climate change.
Abstract: Studies of physiological mechanisms are needed to predict climate effects on ecosystems at species and community levels.
2,055 citations