Search results for "INVASIVE SPECIES"
showing 10 items of 175 documents
Plasticity in the trophic niche of an invasive ant explains establishment success and long‐term coexistence
2021
Invasive species are one of the main threats to biodiversity worldwide and the processes enabling their establishment and persistence remain poorly understood. In generalist consumers, plasticity in diet and trophic niche may play a crucial role in invasion success. There is growing evidence that invasive ants, in particular, occupy lower trophic levels in their introduced range compared to the native one, but evidences remain fragmented. We conducted stable isotope analysis at five locations distributed on two continents to infer the trophic position of the invasive ant Formica paralugubris in the native and introduced part of the range. This species forms large colonies and can be a vorac…
Macrophytes in Inland Waters: From Knowledge to Management
2023
The huge biodiversity of inland waters and the many different aquatic habitats or ecosystems occurring there are particularly threatened by human impacts. In this Special Issue, ten articles have been collected that show new data on the distribution and ecology of some rare aquatic macrophytes, including both vascular plants and charophytes, but also on the use of these organisms for the monitoring, management, and restoration of wetlands.
Fungal biodiversity and in situ conservation in Italy
2011
A remarkable increase in knowledge of fungal biodiversity in Italy has occurred in the last five years. The authors report up-to-date numbers of fungi (Basidiomycota and Ascomycota) by regions together with distributional and ecological data on hypogeous fungi. Specific case studies such as alpine fungi, orchid mycorrhizas symbionts, invasive species, and the use of macrofungi as food by red squirrels are analyzed. In situ conservation strategies carried out on target species and/or taxonomic groups are also indicated.
A validated bioenergetics model for ruffeGymnocephalus cernuusand its application to a northern lake
2008
A bioenergetics model was constructed for ruffe Gymnocephalus cernuus, and the model was used to estimate the food consumption of a native G. cernuus stock in Pyhajarvi, a large mesotrophic lake in south-west Finland. The parameters for the bioenergetics model were determined through laboratory experiments conducted at several temperatures between 5 and 22° C for different sized G. cernuus (from 6 to 27 g). The model was verified and validated with independent laboratory growth experiments. The validated model was applied to field data from Pyhajarvi to estimate the food consumption of G. cernuus and its effects on the zoobenthos community during the years 2002–2004. The total annual food c…
Evolutionary significance of the invasion of introduced populations into the native range of Meconopsis cambrica
2011
The long history of the deliberate or accidental and human-mediated dispersal of flowering plants has led to the introduction of foreign genotypes of many species into areas of Europe hitherto occupied by potentially distinct native populations. Studies of the genetic and evolutionary consequences of such changes are handicapped by the difficulty of identifying the surviving native populations of many species in the absence of clear morphological differences. We investigated the relationship between putative native and introduced populations of the herbaceous perennial Meconopsis cambrica (Papaveraceae), as the isolated native populations of this species can be identified by historical and …
Lectotypification of the fountain grass Cenchrus setaceus (Poaceae: Paniceae)
2015
The typification of the name Cenchrus setaceus (Forsskål) Morrone (Poaceae) is discussed, and a lectotype is designated. Cenchrus setaceus is native to northeastern Africa, and cultivated as an ornamental plant in some parts of the world. It is an invasive species in a wide range of natural habitats worldwide, competing strongly with the native flora.
Climate Change Effects on Agricultural Insect Pests in Europe
2015
Abstract In this chapter, we will discuss observations of climate change effects on agricultural pests in Europe, the possible mechanisms behind these observed effects and finally delve into more detail through some relatively well studied model species (the Colorado potato beetle and the rape beetle). Direct effects of climate change on agricultural pests in Europe are difficult to dissect from all the human-induced changes that have taken place in parallel with an increased mean annual temperature. During the past decade, agriculture has become more professionalized in terms of land use, crop cultivation techniques and pest management strategies. We review the effect of climate change on …
Original data for article: Present environmental fluctuations drive species’ competitive success in experimental invasions
2020
Climate change is presumed to increase both the number and frequency of fluctuations in environmental conditions. Fluctuations can affect the ecological and evolutionary processes that make species more successful competitors against other species. For example, fluctuating conditions can create selection pressures for traits that are profitable in adaptation to fast climate change. On an ecological timescale, environmental fluctuations can facilitate species competitive success by causing reductions in other species’ population sizes. Climate change could then enhance species invasions into new areas if fluctuation-adapted invaders displace their native competitors in chancing environments.…
Original data for article: Responses of a native plant species from invaded and uninvaded areas to allelopathic effects of an invader
2019
Invaders exert new selection pressures on the resident species e.g. through competition for resources or by using novel weapons. It has been shown that novel weapons aid invasion but it is unclear whether native species co-occurring with invaders have adapted to tolerate these novel weapons. Those resident species which are able to adapt to new selective agents can co-occur with an invader while others face a risk of local extinction. We ran a factorial common garden experiment to study whether a native plant species, Anthriscus sylvestris, has been able to evolve a greater tolerance to the allelochemicals exerted by the invader, Lupinus polyphyllus. Lupinus polyphyllus produces allelochemi…
Invasive crayfish increase habitat connectivity
2012
Several studies have shown that distinct compartments of lake ecosystems are coupled via transportation of organic matter, nutrients and energy across habitat boundaries. Here we evaluate the potential of the invasive signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana)) to modify energy pathways in large boreal lakes. Using a stable isotope mixing model and calculation of the isotopic niches we estimated the contribution of different food sources to the diets of crayfish captured from different habitats, and from that inferred their potential to transport energy across the littoral-profundal gradient. The crayfish caught from the littoral area utilized mainly littoral food sources, whereas the…