No abstract

Lionfishes are conspicuous and disruptive predators once introduced outside of their native range. Here we provide a revision of the occurrences of the common lionfish Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828) in the Mediterranean Sea, showing its rapid geographical expansion since 2012. A single lionfish was photographed in September 2016 during a scientific survey off the Vendicari coast, Southern Sicily, Italy. This is the first record of this notorious invasive species from Italian waters. Given its large size, conspicuous appearance, and venomous spines, it is critical to involve informed citizen scientists in tracking the spread of this species and to develop means to manage or adapt to its presence in the Mediterranean Basin.

Recent empirical and theoretical studies suggest that personality and locomotory performance traits linked to dispersal abilities are crucial components of the dispersal syndromes, and that they can evolve during range expansions and colonization processes. Island colonization is one of the best characterised processes in dispersal biogeography, and its implication in the evolution of phenotypic traits has been investigated over a wide range of temporal scales. However, the effect of island colonization on personality and performance traits of natural populations, and how these traits could drive island colonization, has been little explored. Noteworthy, no studies have addressed these processes in the context of late-Pleistocene range expansions. Here, we investigated the contribution of island colonization s triggered by post-glacial range expansions to intraspecific variation in personality and locomotory performance traits. We compared boldness, exploration, jumping performance, and stickiness abilities, in populations from three equidistant areas of the Tyrrhenian tree frog Hyla sarda, two from the main island (Corsica Island) and one from the recently colonized island of Elba. Individuals from Elba were significantly bolder than individuals from Corsica, as they emerged sooner from a shelter (p=0.028), while individuals from Corsica showed markedly higher jumping and stickiness performance (both p<0.001), resulting as more performant than those of Elba. We discuss these results in the context of the major microevolutionary processes at play during range expansion, including selection, spatial sorting, founder effects and their possible interaction with local adaptation processes.

No abstract