Open AccessPredicting the success of an invader: Niche shift versus niche conservatism
Author(s) -
Sherpa Stéphanie,
Guéguen Maya,
Renaud Julien,
Blum Michael G. B.,
Gaude Thierry,
Laporte Frédéric,
Akiner Mustafa,
Alten Bulent,
Aranda Carles,
BarreCardi Hélène,
Bellini Romeo,
Bengoa Paulis Mikel,
Chen XiaoGuang,
Eritja Roger,
Flacio Eleonora,
Foxi Cipriano,
Ishak Intan H.,
Kalan Katja,
Kasai Shinji,
Montarsi Fabrizio,
Pajović Igor,
Petrić Dušan,
Termine Rosa,
Turić Nataša,
VazquezProkopec Gonzalo M.,
Velo Enkelejda,
Vignjević Goran,
Zhou Xiaohong,
Després Laurence
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
ecology and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.17
H-Index - 63
ISSN - 2045-7758
DOI - 10.1002/ece3.5734
Subject(s) - niche , ecological niche , biology , ecology , range (aeronautics) , invasive species , population , local adaptation , adaptation (eye) , habitat , demography , materials science , neuroscience , sociology , composite material
Invasive species can encounter environments different from their source populations, which may trigger rapid adaptive changes after introduction (niche shift hypothesis). To test this hypothesis, we investigated whether postintroduction evolution is correlated with contrasting environmental conditions between the European invasive and source ranges in the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus . The comparison of environmental niches occupied in European and source population ranges revealed more than 96% overlap between invasive and source niches, supporting niche conservatism. However, we found evidence for postintroduction genetic evolution by reanalyzing a published ddRADseq genomic dataset from 90 European invasive populations using genotype–environment association (GEA) methods and generalized dissimilarity modeling (GDM). Three loci, among which a putative heat‐shock protein, exhibited significant allelic turnover along the gradient of winter precipitation that could be associated with ongoing range expansion. Wing morphometric traits weakly correlated with environmental gradients within Europe, but wing size differed between invasive and source populations located in different climatic areas. Niche similarities between source and invasive ranges might have facilitated the establishment of populations. Nonetheless, we found evidence for environmental‐induced adaptive changes after introduction. The ability to rapidly evolve observed in invasive populations (genetic shift) together with a large proportion of unfilled potential suitable areas (80%) pave the way to further spread of Ae. albopictus in Europe.