Project description DEENESFRITPL Invasive species paradox explained Populations of invasive species usually have reduced genetic diversity, creating the so-called 'invasion paradox', because conventional wisdom considers high genetic variation to be crucial for rapid adaptation to novel environments. The EU-funded INVASOMICS project will address this paradox by investigating adaptive mechanisms that promote invasion success in widespread invasive freshwater vertebrate and invertebrate species. The research will study the phenotypic differentiation of wild populations of the eastern mosquitofish in a eutrophication gradient, complemented by laboratory ecotoxicology experiments, both in the native (Florida) and invasive (Spain) ranges of the model species. It will also study three sympatric freshwater amphipod species in Germany to assess potential competitive shifts in the invasive species stemming from higher tolerances to eutrophication. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Invasive species are a major constituent of global change, threaten local biodiversity, ecosystem services, and cause serious economic damage. Invasion science has tried to discern the factors that determine whether a non-native population will become invasive or not. Invasive populations are usually depleted in genetic diversity, creating the so-called 'invasion paradox' because traditional perspectives consider high genetic variation to be crucial for rapid adaptation to novel environments. Recent theoretical advances trying to solve this paradox propose that contemporary pre-adaptation to human-altered habitats within the native range or during the transport stage in the introduction can promote invasions. If this is true, introduced populations will exhibit increased adaptive tolerance to a stressor associated with transport, e.g. eutrophication, contributing to their success in the recipient environment. The aim of this project is to understand adaptive mechanisms that promote invasion success in widespread invasive freshwater vertebrate and invertebrate species. I will study the phenotypic differentiation of wild populations of the eastern mosquitofish in an eutrophication gradient, complemented with laboratory ecotoxicology experiments, both in the native (Florida) and invasive (Spain) ranges of the model species. This intraspecific comparison will be supported by the interspecific study of 3 sympatric freshwater amphipod species in Germany to assess potential competitive shifts in the invasive ones stemming from higher tolerances to eutrophication. Including natural populations with such particularly well described invasion histories will show why some populations become invaders and others do not. Current developments in molecular genetics , e.g. ‘-omics’, give an excellent precise tool to investigate the links between the disciplines of evolutionary biology, ecotoxicology, and invasions science and help elucidate the paradox. Fields of science medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic healthnatural sciencesbiological sciencesmolecular biologymolecular geneticsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesevolutionary biologynatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyinvasive species Keywords Invasive species Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2020 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2020 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator JOHANN WOLFGANG GOETHE-UNIVERSITAET FRANKFURT AM MAIN Net EU contribution € 246 669,12 Address THEODOR W ADORNO PLATZ 1 60323 Frankfurt Am Main Germany See on map Region Hessen Darmstadt Frankfurt am Main, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 246 669,12 Partners (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all Partner Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement. UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA United States Net EU contribution € 0,00 Address GRINTER HALL 223 32611 5500 Gainesville See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 165 265,92
