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Effects on Biodiversity Induced by Exotic Invasive Species and Their Control Agents

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Dear Colleagues,

Many species move from one environment to another every year, settling down and occupying niches adapted to their survival and reproduction. Sometimes their settlement has a great impact on the environment, the society, and the economy in the new colonized areas. By feeding on native organisms, competition for resources or even alteration of the habitat, however, exotic invasive species can be a direct threat to biodiversity. Likewise, the use of conventional or biological pest control, to manage invasive species—often on a large scale and in natural habitats—can have negative environmental effects. Dealing with invasive species and balancing the costs and benefits of their management is thus one of the major challenges for sustainability.

The current Special Issue focuses on:

- The direct effect on biodiversity due to the arrival of a new exotic species into a new environment;

- The effect of niche occupation by an exotic invasive species;

- The utilization of invasive species by native natural enemies;

- The effects on natural enemies due to a variation in the resource availability;

- The effects of classical biological control of a new exotic species on autochthonous species;

- The effects of conventional pest control of invasive species on native species communities.

Prof. Dr. Daniela Lupi
Dr. Jana Collatz
Guest Editors

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Keywords

biodiversity
native species
authochtonous species
classical biological control

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Research

12 pages, 1740 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Flowering Characteristics, Local Environment, and Daily Temperature on the Visits Paid by Apis mellifera to the Exotic Crop Phacelia tanacetifolia

by Manuela Giovanetti, Serena Malabusini, Matteo Zugno and Daniela Lupi

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 10186; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610186 - 16 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1694

Abstract

The opportunity to introduce Phacelia tanacetifolia is still being debated, even if the species is already employed, as it is often sown in rotational set-aside schemes or to support pollinators. Therefore, we need further evidence on its effects on the environment and its attractiveness towards pollinators. This work aims at confirming its appeal towards the honeybee in a mixed agricultural and urban environment in the north of Italy, during late spring and early autumn flowering. We assessed flowering characteristics and honeybee visitation rates by employing observational plots; we recorded resource preferences and behaviours by focal observations and video records; finally, we annotated other flower visitors. Each plant is characterised by one or more flowering stems on which not all flowers open at the same time: an increased number of flowers is, therefore, due to an increase in the number of available flowering stems. Honeybees were highly interested in lacy phacelia resources, especially in nectar collection: pollen collection may not be sufficiently rewarding for bees to dedicate time to it. The only correlation we found was between visitation rates and temperature. Other insects were recorded visiting the flowers: these were especially Hymenoptera; Coleoptera and Lepidoptera were also abundant, while relatively few individuals of Hemiptera and Diptera were recorded. Our results indicate that the mass-flowering of the species is certainly of interest to local pollinators and can be considered to counteract their decline when sown as a single species or in flower mixtures. However, further studies are needed to assess the competition of this plant with native species and its ability to self-regenerate when not purposely planted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects on Biodiversity Induced by Exotic Invasive Species and Their Control Agents)

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14 pages, 34952 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Back-Calculation of Fish Size in Diet Analysis of Piscivorous Predators: A New Index for the Alien Silurus glanis

by Renato Bacchetta, Andrea Marotta, Alessandro Nessi and Paolo Tremolada

Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4322; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084322 - 13 Apr 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1898

Abstract

The wels catfish Silurus glanis has been constantly spreading in many European basins, outside its native range. Being a voracious predator, it is considered to have a severe impact on local fish communities. In the Ticino River (Northern Italy), bones of S. glanis were found in feces from the top predator Lutra lutra. To estimate the control capability of L. lutra for this species and to back-calculate S. glanis’ size from its bone remains, whole skeletons from 27 differently sized S. glanis specimens were analyzed. A double pharyngeal element and all caudal vertebrae emerged as significant items for species identification. The mean length of the pharyngeal element was directly related to fish mass, while for vertebrae, a K-index was proposed to identify the position of each vertebra along the spine and, from this, to calculate the original fish mass. This methodology allowed us to establish that the length of the preyed S. glanis was 85–435 mm, and the ages were between 0+ and 2+ years. The proposed methodology opens new perspectives for more detailed studies on the efficiency of predation by piscivorous species on allochthonous ones. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects on Biodiversity Induced by Exotic Invasive Species and Their Control Agents)

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