Abstract
Analysis of an invasive species' niche shift between native and introduced ranges, along with potential distribution maps, can provide valuable information about its invasive potential. The tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva, is a rapidly emerging and economically important invasive species in the southern United States. It is originally from east-central South America and has also invaded Colombia and the Caribbean Islands. Our objectives were to generate a global potential distribution map for N.fulva, identify important climatic drivers associated with its current distribution, and test whether N.fulva's realized climatic niche has shifted across its invasive range. We used MaxEnt niche model to map the potential distribution of N.fulva using its native and invaded range occurrences and climatic variables. We used principal component analysis methods for investigating potential shifts in the realized climatic niche of N.fulva during invasion. We found strong evidence for a shift in the realized climatic niche of N.fulva across its invasive range. Our models predicted potentially suitable habitat for N.fulva in the United States and other parts of the world. Our analyses suggest that the majority of observed occurrences of N.fulva in the United States represent stabilizing populations. Mean diurnal range in temperature, degree days at ≥10°C, and precipitation of driest quarter were the most important variables associated with N.fulva distribution. The climatic niche expansion demonstrated in our study may suggest significant plasticity in the ability of N.fulva to survive in areas with diverse temperature ranges shown by its tolerance for environmental conditions in the southern United States, Caribbean Islands, and Colombia. The risk maps produced in this study can be useful in preventing N.fulva's future spread, and in managing and monitoring currently infested areas.
Highlights
Increasing global trade and human movement have accelerated the rate of species introductions and establishment into novel areas across the world (Mack et al 2000)
Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Our objectives were to: (1) map the global potential distribution of N. fulva; (2) identify climatic drivers associated with N. fulva distribution; (3) test whether the climatic niche of N. fulva has shifted during invasion; and (4) make inferences about the invasion stages of N. fulva in the United States
Summary
Increasing global trade and human movement have accelerated the rate of species introductions and establishment into novel areas across the world (Mack et al 2000). Invasive species can negatively affect native ecosystems, agriculture, forestry, animal, and human health and cause enormous economic losses (Pimentel et al 2005). They can cause local extinction of rare and unique native species resulting in biotic homogenization and are considered as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide (Sax et al 2002). Maps of species’ current and potential distributions are valuable tools for resource managers for preventing the introduction or establishment of invasive alien species, and for designing an effective early detection and rapid response system (Peterson 2003; Jimenez-Valverde et al 2011).
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