A global invader’s niche dynamics with intercontinental introduction, novel habitats, and climate change

Lakoba, Vasiliy T.; Atwater, Daniel Z.; Thomas, Valerie A.; Strahm, Brian D.; Barney, Jacob N.

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01848

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…Our results also have implications for whether archetypal commensal species show niche conservatism. Niche conservatism argues that taxa tend to preserve their niche over time (Wiens and Graham 2005) and is increasingly being related to invasion ecology through the lens of climatic and environmental change (Lakoba et al 2021), however its role for commensal species remains underexamined. Our results indicate that commensal rats can shift to utilize a wider range of alternative resources and environments compared to the fundamental urban niche in which they initially establish and are adapted to.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Commensal black rats Rattus rattus select wild vegetation over urbanised habitats

Adams

Grant

Kovacs

et al. 2022

Oikos

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Human commensal species are thought to depend so closely on resources provided by humans that they are effectively ‘natives' of urban environments. However, while their adaptations to urban existence are well understood, their ecology and habitat choices have not been closely examined. This study investigated the habitat preferences of the archetypal commensal species, the invasive black rat Rattus rattus, at the urban–bushland interface in Sydney, Australia, and modelled the results using isodar analysis. Unexpectedly, we found evidence that rats perceived bushland as a more resource‐rich habitat compared to urban areas, resulting in higher rat abundance in bushland areas. Resultant spillover of commensal species into native vegetation may pose acute ecological risks in the future, yet management of commensal pests remains focused on urban areas. Ultimately, these findings highlight the complex nature of commensal ecology, suggesting that adaptation to human coexistence does not necessarily lead to a preference for human‐modified landscapes. We suggest that inter‐specific interactions with competitors, or the lack thereof, likely modulate the habitat preferences of commensals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Commensal black rats Rattus rattus select wild vegetation over urbanised habitats

Adams

Grant

Kovacs

et al. 2022

Oikos

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“…Additionally, adaptive divergence may lead to the development of distinctive genotypes that occupy only a subset of the species‐level niche. For example, Johnsongrass exhibits adaptive differentiation in niche between agricultural and non‐agricultural populations, which has broadened the overall species niche and increased the potential for economic damage (Atwater et al., 2016; Lakoba et al., 2021). Niche shifts such as this may enable greater invasive spread into regions previously deemed low risk.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation by environment and its consequences for range shifts with global change: Landscape genomics of the invasive plant common tansy

Briscoe Runquist,

Moeller

2024

Molecular Ecology

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Invasive species are a growing global economic and ecological problem. However, it is not well understood how environmental factors mediate invasive range expansion. In this study, we investigated the recent and rapid range expansion of common tansy across environmental gradients in Minnesota, USA. We densely sampled individuals across the expanding range and performed reduced representation sequencing to generate a dataset of 3071 polymorphic loci for 176 individuals. We used non‐spatial and spatially explicit analyses to determine the relative influences of geographic distance and environmental variation on patterns of genomic variation. We found no evidence for isolation by distance but strong evidence for isolation by environment, indicating that environmental factors may have modulated patterns of range expansion. Land use classification and soils were particularly important variables related to population structure although they operated on different spatial scales; land use classification was related to broad‐scale patterns and soils were related to fine‐scale patterns. All analyses indicated a distinctive genetic cluster in the most recently invaded portion of the range. Individuals from the far northwestern range margin were separated from the remainder of the range by reduced migration, which was associated with environmental resistance. This portion of the range was invaded primarily in the last 15 years. Ecological niche models also indicated that this cluster was associated with the expansion of the niche. While invasion is often assumed to be primarily influenced by dispersal limitation, our results suggest that ongoing invasion and range shifts with climate change may be strongly affected by environmental heterogeneity.

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Distribution models in invasive plants with climatic niche expansion: a case study of Ulex europaeus L. in Colombian Andes

Ángel-Vallejo,

Aguirre-Acosta,

Rodríguez-Rey

et al. 2024

Biol Invasions

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Invasive plants have a wide distribution worldwide. Their ability to adapt and colonize different climates is attributed to the phenotypic plasticity and the expansion of the climatic niche of the species. Simultaneously, their distribution patterns will be affected by climate change, creating or reducing the ideal areas for their establishment. We evaluated the current and potential distribution of Ulex europaeus L. in Colombia, under the global circulation models ACCESS-ESM1-5 and MIROC6 in two scenarios, for the years 2041–2060, taking into account its climate niche expansion. An ecological niche model was built for this purpose using Maxent algorithm of the KUENM, the records of the species in native and invasive condition from the GBIF portal, and records obtained through field trips and bioclimatic variables from Worldclim2 were used. Changes in potential distribution were analyzed with the Biomod2. A total of 1072 occurrence records were found for U. europaeus and 109 records were found in Colombia in the Cordillera Central and Oriental, where an expansion of the altitudinal range was evidenced from 2000 to 4052 m above sea level. Climate change models for Colombia showed that the creation of new areas for potential establishment is less than 1% and there is a reduction in potential distribution of 12 and 31% due to unsuitable climatic conditions that would affect their germination capacity. However, given its potential for adaptation, the invasions will persist in the new conditions and will continue their colonization process at higher altitudes where they find optimal temperatures for their germination and establishment.

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A global invader’s niche dynamics with intercontinental introduction, novel habitats, and climate change

Cited by 5 publications

References 86 publications

Commensal black rats Rattus rattus select wild vegetation over urbanised habitats

Commensal black rats Rattus rattus select wild vegetation over urbanised habitats

Isolation by environment and its consequences for range shifts with global change: Landscape genomics of the invasive plant common tansy

Distribution models in invasive plants with climatic niche expansion: a case study of Ulex europaeus L. in Colombian Andes

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