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Global meta-analysis of native and nonindigenous trophic traits in aquatic ecosystems

Global meta-analysis of native and nonindigenous trophic traits in aquatic ecosystems
Global meta-analysis of native and nonindigenous trophic traits in aquatic ecosystems
Ecologists have recently devoted their attention to the study of species traits and their role in the establishment and spread of nonindigenous species (NIS). However, research efforts have mostly focused on studies of terrestrial taxa, with lesser attention being dedicated to aquatic species. Aquatic habitats comprise of interconnected waterways, as well as exclusive introduction vectors that allow unparalleled artificial transport of species and their propagules. Consequently, species traits that commonly facilitate biological invasions in terrestrial systems may not be as represented in aquatic environments. We provide a global meta-analysis of studies conducted in both marine and freshwater habitats. We selected studies that conducted experiments with native and NIS under common environmental conditions to allow detailed comparisons among species traits. In addition, we explored whether different factors such as species relatedness, functional feeding groups, latitude, climate, and experimental conditions could be linked to predictive traits. Our results show that species with traits that enhance consumption and growth have a substantially increased probability of establishing and spreading when entering novel ecosystems. Moreover, traits associated with predatory avoidance were more prevalent in NIS and therefore favour invasive species in aquatic habitats. When we analysed NIS interacting with taxonomically distinctive native taxa, we found that consumption and growth were particularly important traits. This suggests that particular attention should be paid to newly introduced species for which there are no close relatives in the local biota. Finally, we found a bias towards studies conducted in temperate regions, and thus, more studies in other climatic regions are needed. We conclude that studies aiming at predicting future range shifts should consider trophic traits of aquatic NIS as these traits are indicative of multiple interacting mechanisms involved in promoting species invasions.
biological invasions, comparative studies, effect size, freshwater, invasive species, marine, range expansion, range shift
1354-1013
1861-1870
McKnight, Ella
97bab2b8-746d-4182-8489-48c7f10413d9
García-Berthou, Emili
b5f1e315-975a-435f-b4c3-24cbde381999
Srean, Pao
1a7389bc-cc24-4904-9242-c8dd0510b1a4
Rius, Marc
c4e88345-4b4e-4428-b4b2-37229155f68d
McKnight, Ella
97bab2b8-746d-4182-8489-48c7f10413d9
García-Berthou, Emili
b5f1e315-975a-435f-b4c3-24cbde381999
Srean, Pao
1a7389bc-cc24-4904-9242-c8dd0510b1a4
Rius, Marc
c4e88345-4b4e-4428-b4b2-37229155f68d

McKnight, Ella, García-Berthou, Emili, Srean, Pao and Rius, Marc (2017) Global meta-analysis of native and nonindigenous trophic traits in aquatic ecosystems. Global Change Biology, 23 (5), 1861-1870. (doi:10.1111/gcb.13524).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Ecologists have recently devoted their attention to the study of species traits and their role in the establishment and spread of nonindigenous species (NIS). However, research efforts have mostly focused on studies of terrestrial taxa, with lesser attention being dedicated to aquatic species. Aquatic habitats comprise of interconnected waterways, as well as exclusive introduction vectors that allow unparalleled artificial transport of species and their propagules. Consequently, species traits that commonly facilitate biological invasions in terrestrial systems may not be as represented in aquatic environments. We provide a global meta-analysis of studies conducted in both marine and freshwater habitats. We selected studies that conducted experiments with native and NIS under common environmental conditions to allow detailed comparisons among species traits. In addition, we explored whether different factors such as species relatedness, functional feeding groups, latitude, climate, and experimental conditions could be linked to predictive traits. Our results show that species with traits that enhance consumption and growth have a substantially increased probability of establishing and spreading when entering novel ecosystems. Moreover, traits associated with predatory avoidance were more prevalent in NIS and therefore favour invasive species in aquatic habitats. When we analysed NIS interacting with taxonomically distinctive native taxa, we found that consumption and growth were particularly important traits. This suggests that particular attention should be paid to newly introduced species for which there are no close relatives in the local biota. Finally, we found a bias towards studies conducted in temperate regions, and thus, more studies in other climatic regions are needed. We conclude that studies aiming at predicting future range shifts should consider trophic traits of aquatic NIS as these traits are indicative of multiple interacting mechanisms involved in promoting species invasions.

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Accepted/In Press date: 12 September 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 26 October 2016
Published date: May 2017
Keywords: biological invasions, comparative studies, effect size, freshwater, invasive species, marine, range expansion, range shift
Organisations: Ocean and Earth Science, Marine Biology & Ecology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 402049
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/402049
ISSN: 1354-1013
PURE UUID: 6fa1e103-a859-4fed-a4c5-818d20940890

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Date deposited: 27 Oct 2016 09:15
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 06:01

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Contributors

Author: Ella McKnight
Author: Emili García-Berthou
Author: Pao Srean
Author: Marc Rius

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