Non-native fishes homogenize native fish communities and reduce ecosystem multifunctionality in tropical lakes over 16 years

Author(s)

Moi, Dieison Andre ^[1] ; Alves, Diego Correa ^[1] ; Souza Figueiredo, Bruno Renaly ^[2] ; Poleto Antiqueira, Pablo Augusto ^[3] ; de Mello, Franco Teixeira ^[4] ; Jeppesen, Erik ^{[5, 6, 7, 8, 9]} ; Romero, Gustavo Quevedo ^[3] ; Mormul, Roger Paulo ^[1] ; Bonecker, Claudia Costa ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Maringa, Grad Program Ecol Inland Waters, Dept Biol, BR-87020900 Maringa, Parana - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Santa Catarina, Dept Ecol & Zool, Florianopolis, SC - Brazil

^[3] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Anim Biol, Lab Multitroph Interact & Biodivers, UNICAMP, BR-13083862 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Republ, Dept Ecol & Gest Ambiental CURE, Tacuarembo S-N, Maldonado - Uruguay

^[5] Aarhus Univ, Dept Biosci, Vejlsovej 25, DK-8600 Silkeborg - Denmark

^[6] Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Sino Danish Ctr Educ & Res SDC, Beijing - Peoples R China

^[7] Middle East Tech Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Limnol Lab, Ankara - Turkey

^[8] Middle East Tech Univ, Ctr Ecosyst Res & Implementat, Ankara - Turkey

^[9] Middle East Tech Univ, Inst Marine Sci, Mersin - Turkey

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Science of The Total Environment; v. 769, MAY 15 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Non-native species are considered a major global threat to biodiversity, and their expansion to new ecosystems has recently increased. However, the effect of non-native species on ecosystem functioning is poorly understood, especially in hyperdiverse tropical ecosystems of which long-term studies are scarce. We analyzed the relationship between richness, biomass, and beta-diversity of non-native and native fishes during 16 years in five hyperdiverse tropical shallow lakes. We further elucidated how an observed increase in the proportion of richness, biomass, and beta-diversity of non-native over native fishes affect crucial multifunctional processes of lakes (decomposition, productivity). We found a general positive relationship between the richness and biomass of non-native and native fishes. However, the slope of this relationship decreased continuously with time, displaying an increase in non-native species richness and a decrease in native species richness over time. We also detected a negative relationship between the beta-diversity of non-native and native fishes over time. Moreover, the increase in the non-native:native ratio of species richness, biomass, and IS-diversity over time decreased ecosystem multifunctionality. Our results suggest that non-native fishes caused a homogenization of the native fish species over time, resulting in impoverishment of ecosystem multifunctionality; in part because nonnative fishes are less productive than native ones. Therefore, focus on long-term effects and use of multiple biodiversity facets (alpha- and beta-diversity) are crucial to make reliable predictions of the effects of non-native fish species on native fishes and ecosystem functioning. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/26243-8 - Extreme rainfall events and their effects on the community structure and ecosystem functioning
• Grantee: Pablo Augusto Poleto Antiqueira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 17/09052-4 - Influence of latitude and aquatic subsidies on niche breadth and structure of terrestrial communities
• Grantee: Gustavo Quevedo Romero
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants