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Is Gammarus tigrinus (Crustacea, Amphipoda) becoming cosmopolitan through shipping? Predicting its potential invasive range using ecological niche modeling

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Abstract

While the intensity of global shipping has increased dramatically over the last decades, species exchange between continents has likewise intensified. Ballast water of ships is recognized playing a major role in this process. Many of the larger sea ports have become bridgeheads for invasions. Ecological niche modeling is used to investigate the potential invasive range and high invasive risk ports of the North American amphipod Gammarus tigrinus. Sixty-two occurrences of G. tigrinus in its native range (North America) and 34 environmental data sets were compiled. Data on dispersal distances were used via ecological niche modeling to analyze the invasive potential of G. tigrinus. The invasive risk of large ports was analyzed according to modeling result, as well as their salinity in the main oceanic routes of the world. G. tigrinus had a rapid range extension on the British Isles and in the rest of Western Europe. Now it is invading the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea. Worldwide it has a vast potential invasive range. It has a high invasive risk for many large ports along the main oceanic routes, among which the ports of Shanghai, Buenos Aires and Montevideo have the highest invasive risk. G. tigrinus may become cosmopolitan through shipping, and this possibility is increasing. Particular emphasis should be placed on preventing human-mediated dispersal. Ports may be the first places G. tigrinus invades. This study can identify high invasive risk ports, especially those at risk of introduced North America species. More importantly, the water of large ports should be monitored regularly for exotic aquatic organisms that may survive temporarily or permanently.

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Acknowledgments

The article benefited greatly from comments by two anonymous referees. We thank Chengmin Shi, Qingwen Qi, An Zhang and Xi Cheng for their generous helps with GARP and ArcGIS software, and Xinhai Li, Guo Zheng and Yuchi Zheng for critically reading on an earlier version of the manuscript. We thank David M. Lodge (University of Notre Dame, USA) and Leif-Matthias Herborg (BC Ministry of Environment, Canada) for providing useful data. This study was supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (NSFC-30670239/30870271/30770268/30870473) and National Science Fund for Fostering Talents in Basic Research (Special Subjects in Animal Taxonomy, NSFC-J0630964/J0109).

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  1. Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of China

    Jiawen Ba, Zhonge Hou & Shuqiang Li

  2. Zoological Museum of the University of Amsterdam, Mauritskade 57, 1092 AD, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Dirk Platvoet

  3. Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China

    Li Zhu

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  1. Jiawen Ba
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Ba, J., Hou, Z., Platvoet, D. et al. Is Gammarus tigrinus (Crustacea, Amphipoda) becoming cosmopolitan through shipping? Predicting its potential invasive range using ecological niche modeling. Hydrobiologia 649, 183–194 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0244-5

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