TY - JOUR
T1 - Predicting global climatic suitability for the four most invasive anuran species using ecological niche factor analysis
AU - Andersen, Desiree
AU - Borzée, Amaël
AU - Jang, Yikweon
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the research grants from the Rural Development Administration of Korea (PJ015071) and from the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI 2017002270003).
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the research grants from the Rural Development Administration of Korea ( PJ015071 ) and from the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute ( KEITI 2017002270003 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020
PY - 2021/1
Y1 - 2021/1
N2 - Invasive species have a massive impact on their environment and predicting geographical zones at risk of invasion is paramount to the control of further invasions. Invasive anurans are particularly detrimental to native amphibian species, other vertebrates, and even aquaculture through competition, predation, disease transmission, toxicity, or a combination of these. Four species have been designated as the worst anuran invaders worldwide: Duttaphrynus melanostictus, Rhinella marina, Lithobates catesbeianus and Xenopus laevis. In this study, we modelled global habitat suitability for all four species using ecological niche factor analysis (ENFA) to predict the most susceptible areas to invasion. Models showed suitable climatic conditions for all four species expanded beyond their current native and invasive ranges. Tropical, subtropical, and island biomes around the world were among the areas with the highest ENFA suitability for all four species. Further, marginality statistics indicate niche expansion in D. melanostictus, and generalism in the three other species. As only climatic variables were used in the modelling, these results show the ultimate distributions if all landscape conditions are met without significant barriers to invasion.
AB - Invasive species have a massive impact on their environment and predicting geographical zones at risk of invasion is paramount to the control of further invasions. Invasive anurans are particularly detrimental to native amphibian species, other vertebrates, and even aquaculture through competition, predation, disease transmission, toxicity, or a combination of these. Four species have been designated as the worst anuran invaders worldwide: Duttaphrynus melanostictus, Rhinella marina, Lithobates catesbeianus and Xenopus laevis. In this study, we modelled global habitat suitability for all four species using ecological niche factor analysis (ENFA) to predict the most susceptible areas to invasion. Models showed suitable climatic conditions for all four species expanded beyond their current native and invasive ranges. Tropical, subtropical, and island biomes around the world were among the areas with the highest ENFA suitability for all four species. Further, marginality statistics indicate niche expansion in D. melanostictus, and generalism in the three other species. As only climatic variables were used in the modelling, these results show the ultimate distributions if all landscape conditions are met without significant barriers to invasion.
KW - Ecological modelling
KW - ENFA
KW - Invasive frogs
KW - Invasive toads
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099219015&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01433
DO - 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01433
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85099219015
SN - 2351-9894
VL - 25
JO - Global Ecology and Conservation
JF - Global Ecology and Conservation
M1 - e01433
ER -