Dataset Information

Is it easy to be urban? Convergent success in urban habitats among lineages of a widespread native ant.

ABSTRACT: The most rapidly expanding habitat globally is the urban habitat, yet the origin and life histories of the populations of native species that inhabit this habitat remain poorly understood. We use DNA barcoding of the COI gene in the widespread native pest ant Tapinoma sessile to test two hypotheses regarding the origin of urban populations and traits associated with their success. First, we determine if urban samples of T. sessile have a single origin from natural populations by looking at patterns of haplotype clustering from across their range. Second, we examine whether polygynous colony structure--a trait associated with invasion success--is correlated with urban environments, by studying the lineage dependence of colony structure. Our phylogenetic analysis of 49 samples identified four well supported geographic clades. Within clades, Kimura-2 parameter pairwise genetic distances revealed <2.3% variation; however, between clade genetic distances were 7.5-10.0%, suggesting the possibility of the presence of cryptic species. Our results indicate that T. sessile has successfully colonized urban environments multiple times. Additionally, polygynous colony structure is a highly plastic trait across habitat, clade, and haplotype. In short, T. sessile has colonized urban habitats repeatedly and appears to do so using life history strategies already present in more natural populations. Whether similar results hold for other species found in urban habitats has scarcely begun to be considered.

SUBMITTER: Menke SB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2820551 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Is it easy to be urban? Convergent success in urban habitats among lineages of a widespread native ant.

Menke Sean B SB Booth Warren W Dunn Robert R RR Schal Coby C Vargo Edward L EL Silverman Jules J

PloS one 20100212 2

The most rapidly expanding habitat globally is the urban habitat, yet the origin and life histories of the populations of native species that inhabit this habitat remain poorly understood. We use DNA barcoding of the COI gene in the widespread native pest ant Tapinoma sessile to test two hypotheses regarding the origin of urban populations and traits associated with their success. First, we determine if urban samples of T. sessile have a single origin from natural populations by looking at patte ...[more]

PMID: 20169204

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Project description:Abstract Aim Urbanization exposes species to novel ecological conditions. Some species thrive in urban areas, whereas many others are excluded from these human‐made environments. Previous analyses suggest that the ability to cope with rapid environmental change is associated with long‐term patterns of diversification, but whether the suite of traits associated with the ability to colonize urban environments is linked to this process remains poorly understood. Location World. Time period Current. Major taxa studied Passerine birds. Methods We applied macroevolutionary models to a large dataset of passerine birds to compare the evolutionary history of urban‐tolerant species with that of urban‐avoidant species. Specifically, we examined models of state‐dependent speciation and extinction to assess the macroevolution of urban tolerance as a binary trait, in addition to models of quantitative trait‐dependent diversification based on relative urban abundance. We also ran simulation‐based model assessments to explore potential sources of bias. Results We provide evidence that historically, species with traits promoting urban colonization have undergone faster diversification than urban‐avoidant species, indicating that urbanization favours clades with a historical tendency towards rapid speciation or reduced extinction. In addition, we find that past transitions towards states that currently impede urban colonization by passerines have been more frequent than in the opposite direction. Furthermore, we find a portion of urban‐avoidant passerines to be recent and to undergo fast diversification. All highly supported models give this result consistently. Main conclusions Urbanization is mainly associated with the loss of lineages that are inherently more vulnerable to extinction over deep time, whereas cities tend to be colonized by less vulnerable lineages, for which urbanization might be neutral or positive in terms of longer‐term diversification. Urban avoidance is associated with high rates of recent diversification for some clades occurring in regions with relatively intact natural ecosystems and low current levels of urbanization.

Project description:Despite a growing literature-base devoted to document biodiversity patterns in cities, little is known about the processes that influence these patterns, and whether they are consistent over time. In particular, numerous studies have identified the capacity of cities to host a rich diversity of plant species. This trend, however, is driven primarily by introduced species, which comprise a large proportion of the urban species pool relative to natives. Using an experimental common garden study, we assessed the relative influence of local assembly processes (i.e., soil environmental filtering and competition from spontaneous urban species) on the taxonomic and functional diversity of native plant communities sampled over four seasons in 2016-2018. Taxonomic and functional diversity exhibited different responses to local processes, supporting the general conclusion that species- and trait-based measures of biodiversity offer distinct insights into community assembly dynamics. Additionally, we found that neither soil nor competition from spontaneous urban species influenced taxonomic or functional composition of native species. Functional composition, however, did shift strongly over time and was driven by community-weighted mean differences in both measured traits (maximum height, Hmax; specific leaf area, SLA; leaf chlorophyll a fluorescence, Chl a) and the relative proportions of different functional groups (legumes, annual and biennial-perennial species, C4 grasses, and forbs). By contrast, taxonomic composition only diverged between early and late seasons. Overall, our results indicate that native species are not only capable of establishing and persisting in vacant urban habitats, they can functionally respond to local filtering pressures over time. This suggests that regional dispersal limitation may be a primary factor limiting native species in urban environments. Thus, future regreening and management plans should focus on enhancing the dispersal potential of native plant species in urban environments, in order to achieve set goals for increasing native species diversity and associated ecosystem services in cities.

Dataset Information

Is it easy to be urban? Convergent success in urban habitats among lineages of a widespread native ant.

Publications

Is it easy to be urban? Convergent success in urban habitats among lineages of a widespread native ant.

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