Biological invasions cause major ecological and economic costs in invaded habitats. The round goby Neogobius me- lanostomus is a successful invasive species and a major threat to the biodiversity and ecological functi...Biological invasions cause major ecological and economic costs in invaded habitats. The round goby Neogobius me- lanostomus is a successful invasive species and a major threat to the biodiversity and ecological function of the Baltic Sea. It is native to the Ponto-Caspian region and has, via ballast water transport of ships, invaded the Gulf of Gdansk in Poland. Since 1990, it has spread as far north as Raahe in Northern Finland （64~41 ＂04＂N, 24~28＂44＂E）. Over the past decade, consistent indi- vidual differences of behavioral expressions have been shown to explain various ecological processes such as dispersal, survival or reproduction. We have previously shown that new and old populations differ in personality trait expression. Individuals in new populations are bolder, less sociable and more active than in old populations. Here we investigate if the behavioral differentiation can be explained by phenotype-dependent dispersal. This was investigated by measuring activity, boldness and sociability of in- dividually marked gobies, and subsequently allowing them to disperse in a system composed of five consecutive tanks connected by tubes. Individual dispersal tendency and distance was measured. Our results revealed that in newly established populations, more active individuals disperse sooner and that latency of a group to disperse depends on the mean sociability of the group. This indicates the presence of personality dependent dispersal in this species and that it is maintained at the invasion front but lost as the populations get older展开更多
Differences in boldness are common between populations or between related species and are discussed as part of individual coping style, personality, or behavioral syndrome. Boldness has been found to be dependent on e...Differences in boldness are common between populations or between related species and are discussed as part of individual coping style, personality, or behavioral syndrome. Boldness has been found to be dependent on experience, social, and environmental contexts. The major aim of the present study was to establish an experimental environment that would allow analyzing the risk-taking behavior of 2 competing invasive goby species. Neogobius melanostomus was more active in the absence of a predator Sander lucioperca than N. fluviatilis and clearly spent more time ＂swimming＂ and ＂feeding＂ than N. fluviatilis. In addition, N. melanostomus was always faster than N. fluviatilis both when leaving the shelter and reaching offered food. Based on the different behaviors recorded, species-specific boldness scores were established using a principal component analysis. Although there was no overall difference in boldness scores between the 2 species, both competitive conditions and the effect of the predator played significant roles as factors influencing boldness. Neogobius melanostomus was more affected by the presence/absence of the predator than the social circumstances. Neogobius fluviatilis, on the other hand, was more active and bolder in competitive situations. However, when alone, N. fluviatilis was rather inactive and displayed altogether shy behavior, independent of the presence/ absence of the predator. Thus, the study confirms the prediction that there are differences in behavior and behavioral plasticity, and therein predator-avoidance strategies, between ecologically similar species of goby living in sympatry. We argue that these differences may be related to differential habitat use of both invasive species that presently dominate the fish community in the Lower Rhine.展开更多
文摘Biological invasions cause major ecological and economic costs in invaded habitats. The round goby Neogobius me- lanostomus is a successful invasive species and a major threat to the biodiversity and ecological function of the Baltic Sea. It is native to the Ponto-Caspian region and has, via ballast water transport of ships, invaded the Gulf of Gdansk in Poland. Since 1990, it has spread as far north as Raahe in Northern Finland （64~41 ＂04＂N, 24~28＂44＂E）. Over the past decade, consistent indi- vidual differences of behavioral expressions have been shown to explain various ecological processes such as dispersal, survival or reproduction. We have previously shown that new and old populations differ in personality trait expression. Individuals in new populations are bolder, less sociable and more active than in old populations. Here we investigate if the behavioral differentiation can be explained by phenotype-dependent dispersal. This was investigated by measuring activity, boldness and sociability of in- dividually marked gobies, and subsequently allowing them to disperse in a system composed of five consecutive tanks connected by tubes. Individual dispersal tendency and distance was measured. Our results revealed that in newly established populations, more active individuals disperse sooner and that latency of a group to disperse depends on the mean sociability of the group. This indicates the presence of personality dependent dispersal in this species and that it is maintained at the invasion front but lost as the populations get older
文摘Differences in boldness are common between populations or between related species and are discussed as part of individual coping style, personality, or behavioral syndrome. Boldness has been found to be dependent on experience, social, and environmental contexts. The major aim of the present study was to establish an experimental environment that would allow analyzing the risk-taking behavior of 2 competing invasive goby species. Neogobius melanostomus was more active in the absence of a predator Sander lucioperca than N. fluviatilis and clearly spent more time ＂swimming＂ and ＂feeding＂ than N. fluviatilis. In addition, N. melanostomus was always faster than N. fluviatilis both when leaving the shelter and reaching offered food. Based on the different behaviors recorded, species-specific boldness scores were established using a principal component analysis. Although there was no overall difference in boldness scores between the 2 species, both competitive conditions and the effect of the predator played significant roles as factors influencing boldness. Neogobius melanostomus was more affected by the presence/absence of the predator than the social circumstances. Neogobius fluviatilis, on the other hand, was more active and bolder in competitive situations. However, when alone, N. fluviatilis was rather inactive and displayed altogether shy behavior, independent of the presence/ absence of the predator. Thus, the study confirms the prediction that there are differences in behavior and behavioral plasticity, and therein predator-avoidance strategies, between ecologically similar species of goby living in sympatry. We argue that these differences may be related to differential habitat use of both invasive species that presently dominate the fish community in the Lower Rhine.
