Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Biological attributes discriminating invasive from native European stream macroinvertebrates

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biological Invasions Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Rising economic and ecological costs caused by invasive organisms revived research on biological attributes associated with invasiveness, focussing on the question: do invasive taxa have biological attributes favouring (1) propagule pressure; (2) dispersal; and (3) establishment and population growth? Using a literature-derived database on 312 stream macroinvertebrate genera occurring at 527 least human-impacted European sites, we quantitatively examined this question. Compared with native genera, genera with invasive invertebrate species (1) tended to reproduce more frequently and to have higher abundances (i.e. higher propagule pressure); (2) had no particular resistance stages to survive during dispersal; and (3) had significantly more ovoviviparity (enabling colonization by a single individual that typically releases viable offspring), larger size and longer life (providing resistance against mortality), food and feeding habits exploiting food resources in streams more effectively, and tended to be more dominant in their communities (all favouring establishment and population growth). Repeating these analyses excluding “native” flying insects (i.e. genera that presumably invaded from glacial refuges unnoticed by biologists), fewer biological attributes were significantly associated with invasiveness. For both data sets (all genera or insects excluded), their affinity to few biological traits (e.g. ovoviviparity, gill respiration) assigned the same 13 of the 19 invasive genera to the top 19 ranks on a gradient of potential invasiveness, together with native genera that risk to become invasive (e.g. Pisidium, Unio), but also with one endangered native genus (Margaritifera). Overall, our data support the idea that invasiveness can be predicted using biological attributes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Acosta A, Izzi CF, Stanisci A (2006) Comparison of native and alien plant traits in Mediterranean coastal dunes. Community Ecol 7:35–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allan JD (1995) Stream ecology. Chapman & Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Banarescu P (1990) Zoogeography of fresh waters I. General distribution and dispersal of freshwater animals. Aula-Verlag, Wiesbaden

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauer G (1988) Threats to the freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera L. in Central Europe. Biol Conserv 45:239–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernez I, Aguiar F, Violle C et al (2006) Invasive river plants from Portuguese floodplains: what can species attributes tell us? Hydrobiologia 570:3–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bij de Vaate A, Jazdzewski K, Ketelaars HAM et al (2002) Geographical patterns in range extension of Ponto-Caspian macroinvertebrate species in Europe. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 59:1159–1174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bilton D, Freeland JR, Okamura B (2001) Dispersal in freshwater invertebrates. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 32:159–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burns JH (2006) Relatedness and environment affect traits associated with invasive and noninvasive introduced Commelinaceae. Ecol Appl 16:1367–1376

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cadotte MW, Lovett-Doust J (2001) Ecological and taxonomic differences between native and introduced plants of southwestern Ontario. Ecoscience 8:230–238

    Google Scholar 

  • Cadotte MW, Murray BR, Lovett-Doust J (2006) Evolutionary and ecological influences of plant invader success in the flora of Ontario. Ecoscience 13:388–395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chevenet F, Dolédec S, Chessel D (1994) A fuzzy coding approach for the analysis of long-term ecological data. Freshw Biol 31:295–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cosgrove PJ, Hastie LC (2001) Conservation of threatened freshwater pearl mussel populations: river management, mussel translocation and conflict resolution. Biol Conserv 99:183–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devin S, Beisel J-N (2007) Biological and ecological characteristics of invasive species: a gammarid study. Biol Invasions 9:13–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devin S, Piscart C, Beisel J-N et al (2004) Life history traits of the invader Dikerogammarus villosus (Crustacea: Amphipoda) in the Moselle River, France. Int Rev Hydrobiol 89:21–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devin S, Beisel J-N, Usseglio-Polatera P et al (2005a) Changes in the functional biodiversity in an invaded freshwater ecosystem: the Moselle River. Hydrobiologia 542:113–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devin S, Bollache L, Noel P-Y et al (2005b) Patterns of biological invasions in French freshwater systems by non-indigenous macroinvertebrates. Hydrobiologia 551:137–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dolédec S, Olivier J-M, Statzner B (2000) Accurate description of the abundance of taxa and their biological traits in stream invertebrate communities: effects of taxonomic and spatial resolution. Arch Hydrobiol 148:25–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunstan PK, Johnson CR (2004) Invasion rates increase with species richness in a marine epibenthic community by two mechanisms. Oecologia 138:285–292

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott JM (1977) Some methods for the statistical analysis of samples of benthic invertebrates, 2nd edn. Freshwater Biological Association Scientific Publication No. 25, Ambleside

    Google Scholar 

  • Facon B, Machline E, Pointier JP et al (2004) Variation in desiccation tolerance in freshwater snails and its consequences for invasion ability. Biol Invasions 6:283–293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gayraud S, Statzner B, Bady P et al (2003) Invertebrate traits for the biomonitoring of large European rivers: an initial assessment of alternative metrics. Freshw Biol 48:2045–2064

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glöer P, Meier-Brook C, Ostermann O (1980) Süsswassermollusken, 2nd edn. Deutscher Jugendbund für Naturbeobachtung, Hamburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton MA, Murray BR, Cadotte MW et al (2005) Life-history correlates of plant invasiveness at regional and continental scales. Ecol Lett 8:1066–1074

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazlett BA, Acquistapace P, Gherardi F (2002) Differences in memory capabilities in invasive and native crayfish. J Crustacean Biol 22:439–448

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hildrew AG (1992) Food webs and species interactions. In: Calow P, Petts GE (eds) The rivers handbook, vol 1. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 309–330

    Google Scholar 

  • Illies J (ed) (1978) Limnofauna Europaea, 2nd ed. Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaestner A (1969) Lehrbuch der speziellen Zoologie I. Wirbellose, vol 1, 3rd edn. Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolar CS, Lodge DM (2001) Progress in invasion biology: predicting invaders. Trends Ecol Evol 16:199–204

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Labrie G, Lucas E, Coderre D (2006) Can developmental and behavioral characteristics of the multicolored Asian lady beetle Harmonia axyridis explain its invasive success? Biol Invasions 8:743–754

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu J, Dong M, Miao SL et al (2006) Invasive alien plants in China: role of clonality and geographical origin. Biol Invasions 8:1461–1470

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloret F, Médail F, Brundu G et al (2005) Species attributes and invasion success by alien plants on Mediterranean islands. J Ecol 93:512–520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur RH, Wilson OE (1967) The theory of island biogeography. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyberg CD, Wallentinus I (2005) Can species traits be used to predict marine macroalgal introductions? Biol Invasions 7:265–279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pöckl M (2007) Strategies of a successful new invader in European fresh waters: fecundity and reproductive potential of the Ponto-Caspian amphipod Dikerogammarus villosus in the Austrian Danube, compared with indigenous Gammarus fossarum and G. roeseli. Freshw Biol 52:50–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pratt RB, Black RA (2006) Do invasive trees have a hydraulic advantage over native trees? Biol Invasions 8:1331–1341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radford IJ, Cousens RD (2000) Invasiveness and comparative life-history traits of exotic and indigenous Senecio species in Australia. Oecologia 125:531–542

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2006) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna (see also http://www.R-project.org)

  • Rehage JS, Sih A (2004) Dispersal behavior, boldness, and the link to invasiveness: a comparison of four Gambusia species. Biol Invasions 6:379–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ricciardi A, Serrouya R, Whoriskey FG (1995) Aerial exposure tolerance of zebra and quagga mussels (Bivalvia: Dreissenidae): implications for overland dispersal. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 52:470–477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakai AK, Allendorf FW, Holt JS et al (2001) The population biology of invasive species. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 32:305–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt E (1978) Odonata. In: Illies J (ed) Limnofauna Europaea, 2nd edn. Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, pp 274–279

    Google Scholar 

  • Simberloff DS, Wilson OE (1969) Experimental zoogeography of islands: the colonization of empty islands. Ecology 50:278–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith MD, Knapp AK (2001) Physiological and morphological traits of exotic, invasive exotic, and native plant species in tallgrass prairie. Int J Plant Sci 162:785–792

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Statzner B, Lévêque C (2007) Linking productivity, biodiversity and habitat of benthic stream macroinvertebrate communities: potential complications of worldwide and regional patterns. Int Rev Hydrobiol (in press). doi:10.1002/iroh.200610983

  • Statzner B, Hildrew AG, Resh VH (2001) Species traits and environmental constraints: entomological research and the history of ecological theory. Annu Rev Entomol 46:291–316

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Statzner B, Dolédec S, Hugueny B (2004) Biological trait composition of European stream invertebrate communities: assessing the effects of various trait filter types. Ecography 27:470–488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Statzner B, Bonada N, Dolédec S (2007) Conservation of taxonomic and biological trait diversity of European stream macroinvertebrate communities: a case for a collective public database. Biodivers Conserv. doi: 10.1007/s10531-007-9150-1 (in press)

  • Tachet H, Richoux P, Bournaud M et al (2002) Invertébrés d’eau douce, 2nd corrected impression. CNRS éditions, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Tamburri M, Wasson K, Matsuda M (2002) Ballast water deoxygenation can prevent aquatic introductions while reducing ship corrosion. Biol Conserv 103:331–341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thienemann A (1950) Verbreitungsgeschichte der Süsswassertierwelt Europas. Schweizerbart, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Tittizer T, Schöll F, Dommermuth M (1994) The development of the macrozoobenthos in the river Rhine in Germany during the 20th century. Water Sci Technol 29:21–28

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tittizer T, Schöll F, Banning M et al (2000) Aquatische Neozoen im Makrozoobenthos der Binnenwasserstraßen Deutschlands. Lauterbornia 39:1–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiunov AV, Hale CM, Holdsworth AR (2006) Invasion patterns of Lumbricidae into previously earthworm-free areas of northeastern Europe and the western Great Lakes region of North America. Biol Invasions 8:1223–1234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Unmack PJ, Fagan WF (2004) Convergence of differentially invaded systems toward invader-dominance: time-lagged invasions as a predictor in desert fish communities. Biol Invasions 6:233–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Usseglio-Polatera P, Bournaud M, Richoux P et al (2000) Biological and ecological traits of benthic freshwater macroinvertebrates: relationships and definition of groups with similar traits. Freshw Biol 43:175–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vila-Gispert A, Moreno-Amich R (2003) Life-history strategies of native and introduced fish species from a Mediterranean lake. Anim Biol 53:47–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vila-Gispert A, Alcaraz C, García-Berthou E (2005) Life-history traits of invasive fish in small Mediterranean streams. Biol Invasions 7:107–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber E (2005) Population size and structure of three mussel species (Bivalvia: Unionidae) in a northeastern German river with special regard to influences of environmental factors. Hydrobiologia 537:169–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank all researchers and editors who published results in a format such that we could use them for our database and the many colleagues that provided personal information to fill data gaps (all mentioned in previous papers using the data for other purposes). We also acknowledge the comments by an anonymous referee.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS-Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Fluviaux, Université Lyon 1, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France

    Bernhard Statzner & Sylvain Dolédec

  2. Departamento de Biología Animal, Universidad de Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain

    Núria Bonada

Authors
  1. Bernhard Statzner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Núria Bonada
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sylvain Dolédec
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bernhard Statzner.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Statzner, B., Bonada, N. & Dolédec, S. Biological attributes discriminating invasive from native European stream macroinvertebrates. Biol Invasions 10, 517–530 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-007-9148-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-007-9148-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation