Document: GEE-3-16-3

Invasion and evolution.

VERMEIJ, G.*

University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA ¹

Abstract:
Invading species potentially change the biological environment in the community they enter, and themselves may change because their new environment contains predators, competitors, and potential allies not previously encountered. Invasion may therefore result in evolution. This evolutionary aspect has been little studied. Several case histories involving Recent marine invaders, as well as of biotic interchange occurring over longer time spans during the last several million years indicate that the establishment of foreign species can indeed result in evolution of the native as well as the invading species. The include phenotypic evolution in Littorina obtusata and Nucella lapillus following the introduction and northward spread of the green crab (Carcinus maenas) in eastern North America, and anagenesis and occasionally speciation in North Atlantic clades that invaded through the Bering Strait from the North Pacific after the Miocene. Trophic and habitat specialization in Atlantic species of Littorina transcended that in Pacific ancestors. With the arrival of kelps in the Atlantic, a native European limpet of the genus Patella became more or less specialized to live and feeds on these larger seaweeds. The nature and extent of adaptation depend on the biological conditions in the recipient community as compare to the donor community, as well as on the temporal and spatial patterns of variation in the biological environment.

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This abstract is being presented at: 4:20 PM in session:
Symposium #6: Ecological Consequences of Adaptive Evolution Among Invasive Species in Terrestrial and Marine Systems.