Search results for " Invasion"
showing 10 items of 162 documents
On the Occurrence of the Invasive Freshwater Limpet Ferrissia californica (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Planorbidae) in Japan.
2018
Two members of the genus Ferrissia Walker, 1903, namely Ferrissia nipponica (Kuroda, 1949) and F. japonica Habe and Burch, 1965, have been reported to occur in Japan, but due to a lack of molecular data, doubts have been expressed as to their validity. Furthermore, the possible presence of allochthonous Ferrissia taxa has been stated under a variety of names, so that even now there is no consensus on their presence and identity. Recently, freshwater limpets belonging to the planorbid genus Ferrissia were collected in an irrigation trough on the Izu island of Hachijōjima, Tokyo, Japan. Molecular identification of the collected specimens, based on a fragment of the large ribosomal subunit 16S…
Designer ecosystems : A solution for the conservation-exploitation dilemma
2016
Increase in human population is accelerating the rate of land use change, biodiversity loss and habitat degradation, triggering a serious threat to life supporting ecosystem services. Existing strategies for biological conservation remain insufficient to achieve a sustainable human-nature relationship and this situation has fueled a debate on the conservation-exploitation dilemma. We need to devise novel strategies, in a mutually inclusive way, which can support biological conservation and secure economic development of deprived populations. Here we propose the use of designer ecosystems which can ensure ecological sustainability while providing ample and some new means of livelihood to loc…
Invasion of Eragrostis albensis in Central Europe: distribution patterns, taxonomy and phylogenetic insight into the Eragrostis pilosa complex
2021
AbstractThe Eragrostis pilosa complex (Poaceae) comprises five widely distributed and regionally invasive species—E. albensis, E. amurensis, E. imberbis, E. multicaulis, and E. pilosa, distinguished by tiny and variable morphological characters and with so far unknown phylogenetic relationships. Recently, some doubts have been raised about the status of an invasive glandular morphotype occurring in Central Europe assigned either to E. amurensis or to E. albensis. Here, we addressed this issue by analysing morphology, internal transcribed spacers of nuclear ribosomal DNA, and five inter-simple sequence repeat markers. The genetic evidence supported closer relationship of this glandular morph…
The genome sequence of the grape phylloxera provides insights into the evolution, adaptation, and invasion routes of an iconic pest
2020
Background: Although native to North America, the invasion of the aphid-like grape phylloxera Daktulosphaira vitifoliae across the globe altered the course of grape cultivation. For the past 150 years, viticulture relied on grafting-resistant North American Vitis species as rootstocks, thereby limiting genetic stocks tolerant to other stressors such as pathogens and climate change. Limited understanding of the insect genetics resulted in successive outbreaks across the globe when rootstocks failed. Here we report the 294-Mb genome of D. vitifoliae as a basic tool to understand host plant manipulation, nutritional endosymbiosis, and enhance global viticulture. Results: Using a combination of…
The urban vascular flora of Palermo (Sicily, Italy)
2019
This article presents a comprehensive inventory of the urban vascular flora of the town of Palermo. The data were gathered from extensive field collections, from specimens kept in different herbaria, and publications of the last 30 years. The floristic catalogue includes all the vascular plants that occur spontaneously within the urban area. Thirteen taxa are endemic to Sicily and one of these, Clinopodium raimondoi, is exclusive to Palermo’s area. The inventory comprises 1052 taxa belonging to 119 families and 225 genera, and contains 170 taxa non-native to the Italian flora.
Dimensions of invasiveness: Links between local abundance, geographic range size, and habitat breadth in Europe's alien and native floras.
2021
Understanding drivers of success for alien species can inform on potential future invasions. Recent conceptual advances highlight that species may achieve invasiveness via performance along at least three distinct dimensions: 1) local abundance, 2) geographic range size, and 3) habitat breadth in naturalized distributions. Associations among these dimensions and the factors that determine success in each have yet to be assessed at large geographic scales. Here, we combine data from over one million vegetation plots covering the extent of Europe and its habitat diversity with databases on species' distributions, traits, and historical origins to provide a comprehensive assessment of invasive…
An updated checklist of the vascular flora alien to Italy
2018
An updated inventory of the vascular flora alien to Italy, providing details on the occurrence at regional level, is presented. The checklist includes 1597 species, subspecies, and hybrids, distributed in 725 genera and 152 families; 2 taxa are lycophytes, 11 ferns and fern allies, 33 gymnosperms, and 1551 angiosperms. 157 taxa are archaeophytes and 1440 neophytes. The alien taxa currently established in Italy are 791 (570 naturalized and 221 invasive), while 705 taxa are casual aliens, 4 are not assessed, 7 are of unknown regional distribution, 47 have not been confirmed in recent times, 3 are considered extinct or possibly extinct in the country, and 40 are doubtfully occurring in Italy. …
Adaptive introgression from maize has facilitated the establishment of teosinte as a noxious weed in Europe
2020
Global trade has considerably accelerated biological invasions. The annual tropical teosintes, the closest wild relatives of maize, were recently reported as new agricultural weeds in two European countries, Spain and France. Their prompt settlement under climatic conditions differing drastically from that of their native range indicates rapid genetic evolution. We performed a phenotypic comparison of French and Mexican teosintes under European conditions and showed that only the former could complete their life cycle during maize cropping season. To test the hypothesis that crop-to-wild introgression triggered such rapid adaptation, we used single nucleotide polymorphisms to characterize p…
The ongoing naturalisation of Eucalyptus spp. in the Mediterranean Basin: new threats to native species and habitats
2019
The genus Eucalyptus has been widely introduced into many regions of the world outside its native range and has become invasive in some Mediterranean biomes (e.g. in southern Africa and California). In the Mediterranean Basin and Europe, eucalypts were introduced at the end of the 18th century. However, natural regeneration events in these regions are recent in time and limited in terms of affected areas, except for the Iberian Peninsula. An updated overview about the natural spread of Eucalyptus species in Italy is still lacking. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap, using both published data and unpublished field data regarding naturalisation events, with a specific focus on Sicily.…
Assessing global range expansion in a cryptic species complex: insights from the red seaweed genus Asparagopsis (Florideophyceae)
2017
The mitochondrial genetic diversity, distribution and invasive potential of multiple cryptic operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of the red invasive seaweed Asparagopsis were assessed by studying introduced Mediterranean and Hawaiian populations. Invasive behavior of each Asparagopsis OTU was inferred from phylogeographic reconstructions, past historical demographic dynamics, recent range expansion assessments and future distributional predictions obtained from demographic models. Genealogical networks resolved Asparagopsis gametophytes and tetrasporophytes into four A. taxiformis and one A. armata cryptic OTUs. Falkenbergia isolates of A. taxiformis L3 were recovered for the first time in t…