Life history of peracarid species in Southwestern Atlantic: comparison of population traits between native and exotic species

CARLOS E. RUMBOLD

AUSTRAL ECOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2019 vol. 44

1442-9985

Life history traits of exotic species are important to understand the process involved in their settlement and their potential impact on native biodiversity. In this context, the seasonal density, the population structure and the reproductive patterns of exotic and native peracarid species of two natural marine environments of Southwestern Atlantic were studied in order to determine the traits that favour the invasion success of exotic species. Five samples, consisted in algal patches (0.20 x 0.20 m quadrants) were collected seasonally from 2016 to 2017 in two intertidal environments (La Estafeta and Cerro Avanzado). Both environments presented high richness of cryptogenic and exotic species (T. dulongii, M. insidiosum, A. valida, M. palmata and J. marmorata), and only two native species were recorded (A. grandicornis and E. lanceolatum). The comparison of life history traits suggested that the distribution, dominance and the highest densities of some exotic species are closely related to their continuous reproductive and recruitment periods, their capability to adapt their life history strategies to different environmental conditions and to a more efficient distribution of resources during reproduction; while, in native species, only A. grandicornis registered similar life history traits than exotic populations, suggesting that their distribution could be limited by a latitudinal gradient. We expect that these results provide essential information to understand the invasion pattern of exotic species and their potential impact on native biodiversity in Southwestern Atlantic.