| Title | Weak effects of habitat type on susceptibility to invasive freshwater species: An Italian case study |
| Abstract | Introduction of alien species is one of the major threats to aquatic biota and knowledge of the major correlates of their occurrence is pivotal in planning reliable conservation strategies. To understand whether specific freshwater habitats are more likely to be invaded than others, a dataset on the occurrence of 1604 species in 54 taxonomic groups from 181 sites across the Italian peninsula was gathered. The EUNIS habitat classification was used, selecting for the study's seven habitat types at the second EUNIS level, including lentic (EUNIS C1; 64 sites), lotic (EUNIS C2; 99 sites) and highly artificial (EUNIS J5; 18 sites) habitats. The aim of the study was to test whether the overall number of alien species and the proportion of alien species for each taxonomic group differed between habitat types and could be explained by environmental, human-mediated, or climatic factors. Using generalized linear mixed effect models to account for potential confounding factors, only average air temperature of the site was a significant positive predictor of the occurrence of alien species, regardless of habitat type, species richness, and other climatic variables. A direct effect of temperature could be excluded given the origin of alien species, mostly from colder areas than Italy. Thus, an indirect effect could be hypothesized at the Italian latitudes, with warmer areas potentially more likely to be visited by tourists than colder areas. If this hypothesis is confirmed, the results of the analyses call for a compromise between the maintenance of recreational activities in the wild and the preservation of a natural environment to prevent the arrival and spread of alien species. On the other hand, no further recommendations can be implemented regarding habitat susceptibility to alien species. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
| Source | Aquatic conservation (Print) 24 (6), pp. 841–852 |
| Keywords | ClimateEnvironmental variablesFresh waterInvasionNon-indigenous speciesNon-native speciesPropagule pressure |
| Journal | Aquatic conservation (Print) |
| Editor | John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., New York, N.Y., Regno Unito |
| Year | 2014 |
| Type | Articolo in rivista |
| DOI | 10.1002/aqc.2450 |
| Authors | Boggero, Angela; Basset, Alberto; Austoni, Martina; Barbone, Enrico; Bartolozzi, Luca; Bertani, Isabella; Campanaro, Alessandro; Cattaneo, Antonella; Cianferoni, Fabio; Corriero, Giuseppe; Dörr, Ambrosius Martin; Elia, Antonia Concetta; Ficetola, Gentile Francesco; Kamburska, Lyudmila; La Porta, Gianandrea; Lauceri, Sara; Ludovisi, Alessandro; Gaino, Elda; Goretti, Enzo; Lorenzoni, Massimo; Manca, Marina; Marchetto, Aldo; Morabito, Giuseppe; Marzano, Francesco Nonnis; Oggioni, Alessandro; Pierri, Cataldo; Riccardi, Nicoletta; Rossetti, Giampaolo; Ungaro, Nicola; Volta, Pietro; Zaupa, Silvia; Fontaneto, Diego |
| Text | 281581 2014 10.1002/aqc.2450 Scopus 2 s2.0 84895416552 Climate Environmental variables Fresh water Invasion Non indigenous species Non native species Propagule pressure Weak effects of habitat type on susceptibility to invasive freshwater species An Italian case study Boggero, Angela; Basset, Alberto; Austoni, Martina; Barbone, Enrico; Bartolozzi, Luca; Bertani, Isabella; Campanaro, Alessandro; Cattaneo, Antonella; Cianferoni, Fabio; Corriero, Giuseppe; Dorr, Ambrosius Martin; Elia, Antonia Concetta; Ficetola, Gentile Francesco; Kamburska, Lyudmila; La Porta, Gianandrea; Lauceri, Sara; Ludovisi, Alessandro; Gaino, Elda; Goretti, Enzo; Lorenzoni, Massimo; Manca, Marina; Marchetto, Aldo; Morabito, Giuseppe; Marzano, Francesco Nonnis; Oggioni, Alessandro; Pierri, Cataldo; Riccardi, Nicoletta; Rossetti, Giampaolo; Ungaro, Nicola; Volta, Pietro; Zaupa, Silvia; Fontaneto, Diego Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Introduction of alien species is one of the major threats to aquatic biota and knowledge of the major correlates of their occurrence is pivotal in planning reliable conservation strategies. To understand whether specific freshwater habitats are more likely to be invaded than others, a dataset on the occurrence of 1604 species in 54 taxonomic groups from 181 sites across the Italian peninsula was gathered. The EUNIS habitat classification was used, selecting for the study s seven habitat types at the second EUNIS level, including lentic EUNIS C1; 64 sites , lotic EUNIS C2; 99 sites and highly artificial EUNIS J5; 18 sites habitats. The aim of the study was to test whether the overall number of alien species and the proportion of alien species for each taxonomic group differed between habitat types and could be explained by environmental, human mediated, or climatic factors. Using generalized linear mixed effect models to account for potential confounding factors, only average air temperature of the site was a significant positive predictor of the occurrence of alien species, regardless of habitat type, species richness, and other climatic variables. A direct effect of temperature could be excluded given the origin of alien species, mostly from colder areas than Italy. Thus, an indirect effect could be hypothesized at the Italian latitudes, with warmer areas potentially more likely to be visited by tourists than colder areas. If this hypothesis is confirmed, the results of the analyses call for a compromise between the maintenance of recreational activities in the wild and the preservation of a natural environment to prevent the arrival and spread of alien species. On the other hand, no further recommendations can be implemented regarding habitat susceptibility to alien species. © 2014 John Wiley Sons, Ltd. 24 Published version http //onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.2450/full Boggero et al 2014 2014_AqCons_Boggero_et_al.pdf Articolo in rivista John Wiley Sons, Ltd. 1052 7613 Aquatic conservation Print Aquatic conservation Print Aquat. conserv. Print Aquatic conservation Print Marine and freshwater ecosystems Print martina.austoni AUSTONI MARTINA lyudmilatodorova.kamburska KAMBURSKA LYUDMILA TODOROVA angela.boggero BOGGERO ANGELA aldo.marchetto MARCHETTO ALDO giuseppe.morabito MORABITO GIUSEPPE rosaria.lauceri LAUCERI ROSARIA alessandro.oggioni OGGIONI ALESSANDRO nicolettarita.riccardi RICCARDI NICOLETTA RITA pietro.volta VOLTA PIETRO diego.fontaneto FONTANETO DIEGO fabio.cianferoni CIANFERONI FABIO marinamarcella.manca MANCA MARINA MARCELLA |
