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Freshwater ecosystem vulnerability: Is native climatic niche good enough to predict invasion events?
Author(s) -
Frederico Renata G.,
Salvador Gilberto N.,
Andrade André,
Rosa Gustavo R.,
Torquato Gabriel V.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
aquatic conservation: marine and freshwater ecosystems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.95
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1099-0755
pISSN - 1052-7613
DOI - 10.1002/aqc.3223
Subject(s) - niche , ecology , ecological niche , invasive species , introduced species , habitat , range (aeronautics) , environmental niche modelling , biodiversity , ecosystem , fauna , novel ecosystem , biology , geography , materials science , composite material
The introduction of invasive species is a significant threat to freshwater ecosystems and is changing the biogeographic patterns of fish species, leading to homogenization of fish fauna. The ability to predict potential invasions is critical in conservation biology to avoid further biodiversity loss. Ecological niche modelling has become an important tool in biological invasion studies. However, some introduced species can spread to habitats that are different from those in their native range. A framework based on niche shifts and ecological niche models was used to show that Pterygoplichthys ambrosettii , an armoured catfish, commonly known as ‘pleco', and native to the middle‐lower Paraná river, has expanded its niche by 27% and is now occupying a new range of environmental conditions. This species has experienced a niche shift from its original habitat and has started to occupy new areas of the Upper Paraná river basin and the São Francisco basin in Brazil. Models built using both native and non‐native areas were not able to predict the invaded habitats, and in either the native or non‐native areas the cross‐validation procedures corroborate the niche expansion hypothesis.