Large shifts of niche and range in the golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata), an aquatic invasive species

Abstract

AbstractNiche and range shifts of invasive species are essential in assessing the risk of biological invasions and developing ecological niches and species distribution theories. Studies on invasive aquatic species' niche and range shifts have important implications for conserving aquatic invasive ecosystems. Here we used niche and range dynamic models to explore niche and range shifts of the golden apple snail Pomacea canaliculata, one of the world's most invasive aquatic species. The major factors responsible for P. canaliculata niche shifts in native and invaded regions were minimum temperature of the coldest month and precipitation in the warmest quarter. The niche and range of invasive P. canaliculata snails were not conserved relative to their native counterparts and had a broader niche and larger range, which are consistent with the findings that invasive P. canaliculata snails could survive in colder, hotter, drier, and wetter climates. Given that niche nonconservatism could result in range nonconservatism and small increases in niche breadth could induce large range expansions, niche shifts might provide a more sensitive indicator of invasion risk than range shifts. In contrast to most invasive species that show conservatism of their native niches, we observed high niche lability between the P. canaliculata snails in the native and invaded regions. Our findings indicate that the golden apple snail is a high‐risk invasive aquatic species for its ability to aggressively proliferate through its rapid reproduction rate, fast growth as suggested by previous studies, and also for its highly labile niches and ranges, which facilitates adaptation to the climate of the introduced regions.