Dataset Information

Environmental niche and functional role similarity between invasive and native palms in the Atlantic Forest.

ABSTRACT: Invasive species can significantly affect native species when their niches are similar. Ecological and morphological similarities between the invasive Australian palm, Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, and the native palm from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, Euterpe edulis, suggest that they have similar environmental requirements and functional roles (i.e., the function a species performs in an ecosystem). This similarity raises concerns about how the invasive palm could impact the native species in the present and future. We used spatial (species occurrences) and ecological information (frugivory events) to characterize the environmental niche and functional role of the two palms and assess their overlap. In addition, we predicted the potential area of occurrence of each palm within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest under current and future climate conditions.We estimated the environmental conditions used by the invasive plant based on its native distribution only, and based on all areas where the species is able to establish across the globe. We found that the environmental niches of the two palm species overlap up to 39%, which corresponds to 50% of the current geographic distribution of E. edulis in the Atlantic Forest. In the areas where the two species potentially co-occur, the impact of the invasive species on the native should be influenced by the invasive species interactions with frugivores. We found that the frugivory functional role of the two palms was similar (84% overlap) which suggest that A. cunninghamiana might disrupt the seed dispersal of the native palm. However, co-occurrence between the palms may decline with future climate change, as the potentially environmental suitable area for the invasive palm is predicted to decline by 10% to 55%. Evaluating the similarity in both the environmental niche, of the native and global extent, and the functional role of native and invasive plants provides a detailed understanding of the potential impact of invasive species on native species now and in the future.

SUBMITTER: Bello C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7900028 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Environmental niche and functional role similarity between invasive and native palms in the Atlantic Forest.

Bello Carolina C Cintra Ana Laura P ALP Barreto Elisa E Vancine Maurício Humberto MH Sobral-Souza Thadeu T Graham Catherine H CH Galetti Mauro M

Biol Invasions. 20201113 3

Invasive species can significantly affect native species when their niches are similar. Ecological and morphological similarities between the invasive Australian palm, <i>Archontophoenix cunninghamiana,</i> and the native palm from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, <i>Euterpe edulis</i>, suggest that they have similar environmental requirements and functional roles (i.e., the function a species performs in an ecosystem). This similarity raises concerns about how the invasive palm could impact the n ...[more]

PMID: 33679211

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Project description:Background and aimsUnrelated organisms that share similar niches often exhibit patterns of convergent evolution in functional traits. Based on bimodal distributions of hawkmoth tongue lengths and tubular white flowers in Africa, this study hypothesized that long-tongued hawkmoths comprise a pollination niche (ecological opportunity) that is distinct from that of shorter-tongued hawkmoths.MethodsField observations, light trapping, camera surveillance and pollen load analysis were used to identify pollinators of plant species with very long-tubed (>8?cm) flowers. The nectar properties and spectral reflectance of these flowers were also measured. The frequency distributions of proboscis length for all captured hawkmoths and floral tube length for a representative sample of night-blooming plant species were determined. The geographical distributions of both native and introduced plant species with very long floral tubes were mapped.Key resultsThe convolvulus hawkmoth Agrius convolvuli is identified as the most important pollinator of African plants with very long-tubed flowers. Plants pollinated by this hawkmoth species tend to have a very long (approx. 10?cm) and narrow flower tube or spur, white flowers and large volumes of dilute nectar. It is estimated that >70 grassland and savanna plant species in Africa belong to the Agrius pollination guild. In South Africa, at least 23 native species have very long floral tubes, and pollination by A. convolvuli or, rarely, by the closely related hawkmoth Coelonia fulvinotata, has been confirmed for 11 of these species. The guild is strikingly absent from the species-rich Cape floral region and now includes at least four non-native invasive species with long-tubed flowers that are pre-adapted for pollination by A. convolvuli.ConclusionsThis study highlights the value of a niche perspective on pollination, which provides a framework for making predictions about the ecological importance of keystone pollinators, and for understanding patterns of convergent evolution and the role of floral traits in plant colonization.

Dataset Information

Environmental niche and functional role similarity between invasive and native palms in the Atlantic Forest.

Publications

Environmental niche and functional role similarity between invasive and native palms in the Atlantic Forest.

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