Predicting functional traits of invasive aquatic plants across native and invasive ranges: new advances with DIVE IN MSCA-Global project.

Alice Dalla Vecchia ¹, , Roger Mormul ², Lars L. Iversen ³, Rossano Bolpagni ¹

University of Parma, Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Parma, Italy ¹, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, NUPELIA, Maringá, Brazil ², McGill University, Department of Biology, Montreal, Canada ³

Biodiversity and ecosystems are facing the imperative challenge posed by invasive species responsible for substantial impacts on habitat integrity and ecosystem functioning. Freshwaters are particularly susceptible to invasions, impacting both the functioning and services that these ecosystems provide. Here we present the MSCA-Global DIVE IN project (“Predicting DIVErsity of INvasive aquatic plants”) that aims at understanding the mechanisms underlying invasion performance of aquatic plants. With DIVE IN we will determine and predict the spatial range of functional variation of three invasive freshwater plants (Elodea nuttallii, Pistia stratiotes and Trapa natans) in response to environmental conditions. This will be fulfilled in three main steps: description of leaf traits-environment relationships, prediction of trait variation at continental scale, and validation of the observed trends with controlled growth experiments. We will integrate spatial modelling with functional ecology, thereby creating a functional biogeographic framework for studying plant invasions in freshwater systems, thus providing the opportunity to understand functional adaptations across different spatial scales and environmental gradients. Freshwater habitats and invasive aquatic plants do often not follow the consolidated paradigms of terrestrial taxa distribution models, in terms of environmental drivers and realized ecological niches. Therefore, this contribution attempts to highlight gaps and issues of dealing with unique aspects of freshwater ecosystems, by presenting how the DIVE IN project will advance knowledge on the influence of invasive freshwater plants on the functioning of invaded habitats at medium to large scale.

Main author career stage: Postdoc / Fellow

Contribution type: Talk

First choice session: 3. Biodiversity and global change

Second choice session: 2. Ecology