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Invasive alien species of policy concerns show widespread patterns of invasion and potential pressure across European ecosystems.

ABSTRACT: Animals, plants, and other organisms unintentionally or deliberately brought into a natural environment where they are not normally found, and where they cause harmful effects on that environment, are known also as invasive alien species (IAS). They represent a major threat to native biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and can affect negatively human health and the economy. We assessed the presence and potential pressure by IAS on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems across 27 European countries, for 66 IAS of policy concern. We computed a spatial indicator that accounts for the number of IAS present in an area and the extent of the ecosystems affected; for each ecosystem, we also looked at the pattern of invasions in the different biogeographical regions. We found disproportionally greater invasion in the Atlantic region, followed by Continental and Mediterranean regions, possibly related to historical patterns of first introductions. Urban and freshwater ecosystems were the most invaded (nearly 68% and ca. 52% of their extent respectively), followed by forest and woodland (nearly 44%). The average potential pressure of IAS was greater across cropland and forests, where we also found the lowest coefficient of variation. This assessment can be repeated over time to derive trends and monitor progress towards environmental policy objectives.

SUBMITTER: Polce C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10199087 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Invasive alien species of policy concerns show widespread patterns of invasion and potential pressure across European ecosystems.

Polce Chiara C Cardoso Ana Cristina AC Deriu Ivan I Gervasini Eugenio E Tsiamis Konstantinos K Vigiak Olga O Zulian Grazia G Maes Joachim J

Scientific reports 20230519 1

Animals, plants, and other organisms unintentionally or deliberately brought into a natural environment where they are not normally found, and where they cause harmful effects on that environment, are known also as invasive alien species (IAS). They represent a major threat to native biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and can affect negatively human health and the economy. We assessed the presence and potential pressure by IAS on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems across 27 European coun ...[more]

PMID: 37208377

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Project description:BackgroundBiological invasions can be considered one of the main threats to biodiversity, and the recognition of common ecological and evolutionary features among invaders can help developing a predictive framework to control further invasions. In particular, the analysis of successful invasive species and of their autochthonous source populations by means of genetic, phylogeographic and demographic tools can provide novel insights into the study of biological invasion patterns. Today, long-term dynamics of biological invasions are still poorly understood and need further investigations. Moreover, distribution and molecular data on native populations could contribute to the recognition of common evolutionary features of successful aliens.ResultsWe analyzed 2,195 mitochondrial base pairs, including Cytochrome b, Control Region and rRNA 12S, in 161 Italian and 27 African specimens and assessed the ancient invasive origin of Italian crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) populations from Tunisia. Molecular coalescent-based Bayesian analyses proposed the Roman Age as a putative timeframe of introduction and suggested a retention of genetic diversity during the early phases of colonization. The characterization of the native African genetic background revealed the existence of two differentiated clades: a Mediterranean group and a Sub-Saharan one. Both standard population genetic and advanced molecular demography tools (Bayesian Skyline Plot) did not evidence a clear genetic signature of the expected increase in population size after introduction. Along with the genetic diversity retention during the bottlenecked steps of introduction, this finding could be better described by hypothesizing a multi-invasion event.ConclusionEvidences of the ancient anthropogenic invasive origin of the Italian Hystrix cristata populations were clearly shown and the native African genetic background was preliminary described. A more complex pattern than a simple demographic exponential growth from a single propagule seems to have characterized this long-term invasion.

Dataset Information

Invasive alien species of policy concerns show widespread patterns of invasion and potential pressure across European ecosystems.

Publications

Invasive alien species of policy concerns show widespread patterns of invasion and potential pressure across European ecosystems.

Similar Datasets

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