Nesticus eremita (Araneae: Nesticidae): redescription of a potentially invasive European spider found in New Zealand

Vink, Cornelis; Dupérré, Nadine

doi:10.1636/a11-57.1

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(17 reference statements)

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“…We consider it appropriate to presume here that since environmental factors affect dragline silk properties across hierarchical levels, encountering new environments will adversely affect silk functionality, which could be potentially problematic for spiders. Nonetheless, many spiders around the world are excellent invaders of novel environments 17,20,32,33 . Perhaps this is because spiders that are adept at invading new environments have less variable silks (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silk physico-chemical variability and mechanical robustness facilitates intercontinental invasibility of a spider

Viera

García

Lacava

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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There are substantive problems associated with invasive species, including threats to endemic organisms and biodiversity. Understanding the mechanisms driving invasions is thus critical. Variable extended phenotypes may enable animals to invade into novel environments. We explored here the proposition that silk variability is a facilitator of invasive success for the highly invasive Australian house spider, Badumna longinqua. We compared the physico-chemical and mechanical properties and underlying gene expressions of its major ampullate (MA) silk between a native Sydney population and an invasive counterpart from Montevideo, Uruguay. We found that while differential gene expressions might explain the differences in silk amino acid compositions and protein nanostructures, we did not find any significant differences in silk mechanical properties across the populations. Our results accordingly suggest that B. longinqua’s silk remains functionally robust despite underlying physico-chemical and genetic variability as the spider expands its range across continents. They also imply that a combination of silk physico-chemical plasticity combined with mechanical robustness might contribute more broadly to spider invasibilities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silk physico-chemical variability and mechanical robustness facilitates intercontinental invasibility of a spider

Viera

García

Lacava

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…This was seemingly the case for the detritivore Oxidus gracilis (CL Koch), known as the ‘greenhouse millipede’ (Iniesta et al ., 2020), and the predator Caenoplana coerulea Moseley (Suárez, Martín & Naranjo, 2018), recorded in subterranean habitats globally and in the Canary Islands, respectively. The European spider Kryptonesticus eremita (Simon) plausibly might have colonised New Zealand via shipping containers, considering the proximity between the site of detection of this species and the port of Auckland (Vink & Dupérré, 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aliens in caves: the global dimension of biological invasions in subterranean ecosystems

et al. 2023

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Alien species are a significant threat to natural ecosystems and human economies. Despite global efforts to address this challenge, the documented number of alien species is rapidly increasing worldwide. However, the magnitude of the impact of alien species may vary significantly across habitats. For example, some habitats are naturally less prone to biological invasions due to stringent abiotic and biotic characteristics, selecting for a limited number of introduced species possessing traits closely related to the native organisms. Subterranean ecosystems are quintessential examples of habitats with strong environmental filters (e.g. lack of light and scarcity of food), driving convergent adaptations in species that have successfully adapted to life in darkness. Despite these stringent environmental constraints, the number of records of alien species in subterranean ecosystems has increased in recent decades, but the relevant literature remains largely fragmented and mostly anecdotal. Therefore, even though caves are generally considered very fragile ecosystems, their susceptibility to impacts by alien species remains untested other than for some very specific cases. We provide the first systematic literature survey to synthesise available knowledge on alien species in subterranean ecosystems globally. This review is supported by a database summarising the available literature, aiming to identify gaps in the distribution and spread of alien invertebrate species in subterranean habitats, and laying the foundations for future management practices and interventions. First, we quantitatively assessed the current knowledge of alien species in subterranean ecosystems to shed light on broader questions about taxonomic biases, geographical patterns, modes of dispersal, pathways for introductions and potential impacts. Secondly, we collected species‐specific traits for each recorded alien species and tested whether subterranean habitats act as ecological filters for their establishment, favouring organisms with pre‐adaptive traits suitable for subterranean life. We found information on the presence of 246 subterranean alien species belonging to 18 different classes. The dominant alien species were invertebrates, especially insects and arachnids. Most species were reported in terrestrial subterranean habitats from all continents except Antarctica. Palaearctic and Nearctic biogeographic regions represented the main source of alien species. The main routes of introductions into the recipient country are linked to commercial activities (84.3% of cases for which there was information available). Negative impacts have been documented for a small number of case studies (22.7%), mostly related to increased competition with native species. For a limited number of case studies (6.1%), management strategies were reported but the effectiveness of these interventions has rarely been quantified. Accordingly, information on costs is very limited. Approximately half of the species in our database can be considered established i...

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“…Howaia mogera is considered a highly invasive species with a pronounced capacity for dispersion and adaptation to novel environments (Esyunin et al 2019). While atypical among nesticid spiders, such adaptive traits can be occasionally observed in species belonging to this family (Vink and Duperre 2011;Nardi et al 2023). Our analysis supports the hypothesis of recent human-driven colonization of H. mogera beyond its East Asian native range.…”

Section: Dispersion Outside the Native Rangementioning

confidence: 99%

From caves to continents: phylogeography and niche shift of an invasive subterranean spider

Ballarin,

Zhang,

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Invasive non-native species are recognized as a serious threat to the native biodiversity of the areas they colonize. The subterranean spider Howaia mogera (Yaginuma 1972) (syn. Nesticella mogera) is considered a highly invasive non-native species rapidly expanding its geographical range from Asia across the European continent and to remote oceanic islands. Due to its preference for moist, dark, and climatically stable habitats, including caves, this spider represents a potential threat to the endemic fauna living in the forest litter and subterranean environments. Nevertheless, the origin, biogeography, patterns of colonization, and niche preference of H. mogera remain unexplored. In this study, we reconstructed the phylogeography of the species combining a multi-locus phylogenetic analysis and a niche modeling approach. Our results confirm the center of origin of H. mogera in southern China, from where the species naturally spread and diversified in eastern Asia during the Pleistocene Epoch. Its expansion into non-native areas occurred only recently, possibly as a consequence of human-mediated passive transportation and in conjunction with a shift in the habitat preference of the species. Non-native populations have shifted from an original preference for a subterranean lifestyle to more generalist conditions. This change has allowed them to exploit a wider breadth of habitats and has facilitated their expansion in Europe and remote oceanic islands. Yet, the retention of the original subterranean habitat preferences in these non-native populations poses a conservation threat to specialized and fragile subterranean ecosystems, which H. mogera can efficiently exploit in invaded areas. Our study underscores the importance of comprehending phylogeography and niche dynamics in invasive non-native species to predict and manage their future expansions. We further highlight the urgency of monitoring H. mogera's spread worldwide, particularly in Southern Europe, to protect fragile invaded ecosystems.

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Nesticus eremita (Araneae: Nesticidae): redescription of a potentially invasive European spider found in New Zealand

Cited by 8 publications

References 14 publications

Silk physico-chemical variability and mechanical robustness facilitates intercontinental invasibility of a spider

Silk physico-chemical variability and mechanical robustness facilitates intercontinental invasibility of a spider

Aliens in caves: the global dimension of biological invasions in subterranean ecosystems

From caves to continents: phylogeography and niche shift of an invasive subterranean spider

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