Intraspecific ecological diversity in an invasive species within an urban environmental mosaic

• Grant number: 21/02058-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2022
• End date: April 27, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Raul Costa Pereira
• Grantee: Jasmim Felipe de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/11953-2 - Echoes of socioeconomic inequality into biodiversity (IneqBio), AP.JP

Abstract

Human societies have dramatically transformed the natural environment. More than half of the human population lives in cities, and predictions indicate a sharp increase in this proportion until 2050. Environmental heterogeneity within urban centers is often generated by socioeconomic inequality across neighborhoods. This uneven spatial distribution of wealth and resources has the neglected potential to influence how organisms select and use resources across populations. Importantly, intraspecific niche variation can occur not only among populations from different locations but also among individuals within each population (i.e., individual specialization). Therefore, this project aims to understand how urban environmental heterogeneity shapes inter- and intrapopulation trophic niche variation in an invasive species. In particular, based on predictions from the niche theory, we will investigate the effects of the diversity of resources and the density of conspecifics on population and individual niches of the Giant African land snail, Lissachatina fulica, as well as their consequences to fitness. In addition, we will perform a quantitative bibliographic review of the ecology and distribution of L. fulica, which will result in the first global synthesis about this invasive species. For the review, we will gather information about its distribution, trophic resources used, epidemiology, and ecological impacts. We will conduct this study in different neighborhoods of Campinas, São Paulo, where we will sample multiple snail populations (i.e., consumers) and plant communities (i.e., resources). We will use stable isotopes (d13C e d15N) to characterize trophic niches of individuals and populations. Moreover, we will carry out greenhouse experiments to test how niches and fitness change when L. fulica occupies new contrasting environments, which will also allow us to study the mechanisms generating intraspecific variation in movement patterns and activity periods. This project will advance the understanding of the causes and consequences of intraspecific niche diversity in generalist species, besides contributing to a better understanding of the trophic ecology of one of the most invasive species in the world, which has the potential to help the development of effective control methods for L. fulica. (AU)