Species traits predict stream‐fish invaders in an Appalachian (U.S.A.) river basin

Abstract

We compared the influence of biological traits (morphology, physiology, reproduction, and life history), ecological traits (geographic distribution, habitat associations, food habits), and introduction attributes (propagule pressure, human use of a species, residence time) on invasion success of native and introduced stream fishes during the colonisation and spread stages in an Appalachian (U.S.A.) river basin. Colonisation success was positively related to residence time, benthic feeding, an equilibrium life‐history strategy, and nest spawning. Successful spread was associated with tolerance to increased temperature and an equilibrium life‐history strategy. The spread of introduced fishes was negatively related to gamefish status. No effect of propagule pressure was detected. Traits linked to invasion success were consistent with the hypothesis that human land‐use practices increase the invasibility of highland catchments by creating novel conditions better suited to lowland and equilibrium invaders. We found biological traits to be more useful than ecological traits in predicting invasion success and suggesting invasion mechanisms. Parental care and nest association can facilitate invasions over large spatial extents for both native and introduced fishes. Analyses of suites of traits can reveal mechanisms of invasions and tactics for controlling them; such mechanisms and tactics may be system‐specific and scale‐dependent.

Freshwater Fish Invasions: A Comprehensive Review

“…The residence time of non-native species, or the time since the first recorded introduction, plays an important role during the spread and impact stages (Wilson et al, 2007). Residence time has been shown to be linked to the spread of non-native species via colonization success (Buckwalter et al, 2020) and size of the introduced range (Rabitsch et al, 2013). Species impacts may evolve over time and can sometimes increase even without new introductions (Rabitsch et al, 2013), as illustrated by the Nile perch, the impacts of which increased significantly 20 years after its first introduction Appendix 4).…”

Environmental filters of freshwater fish community assembly along elevation and latitudinal gradients

“…Additionally, our habitat trait category included coarse functional traits with limited variability among species (i.e., all were categorical; Supporting Information Table S2), and such broad ecological traits have particularly weak performance in trait-based studies (e.g., Buckwalter et al, 2020).…”

“…Although temperature and dispersal were historical filters for assembling communities, additional contemporary filters might have an even stronger effect. Humans have introduced non-native species across landscapes at unprecedented rates that have disrupted historical biogeographical patterns through assisted dispersal (Côte et al, 2019;Kirk et al, 2020;Rahel, 2007), especially given that non-native species share similar functional traits with each other (Buckwalter et al, 2020;Milardi et al, 2019). Future work should consider the extent to which biogeographical patterns of community assembly along climatic gradients will remain in a world with climate warming and the spread of non-native species.…”

Species traits and invasion history as predictors of freshwater fish’s invasion success in Europe

“…For example, shes with longer lifespan typically attain larger maximum body sizes (not considered here as candidate predictor due to collinearity problems), which confers enhanced dispersal abilities and possible increased competitive advantages. Maximum body size is often referred to as an important trait for the establishment stage ( (Buckwalter et al 2020). Lifespan (and body size) may in uence the success of alien sh species in two distinct directions.…”