Sociability between invasive guppies and native topminnows
Abstract
The role of interspecific social interactions during species invasions may be more decisive than previously thought. Research has revealed that invasive fish improve their foraging success by shoaling with native Mexican species, and potentially increase the chances of invasion success. However, do native individuals tend to associate with invaders as well? We tested the hypothesis that the twoline skiffia (Neotoca bilineata) and the Lerma livebearer (Poeciliopsis infans), both native endemic Mexican topminnows, will associate with guppies, a notorious invasive species present in Mexico. Our investigation shows that guppies, twoline skiffias and Lerma livebearers have a mutual tendency to associate with each other. Although there is a marked tendency to shoal with heterospecifics in this system, shoaling partners do not necessarily benefit equally from the association. Further research on invasive-native social interactions is needed to promote our understanding of potential facilitation by natives.
Citation
Camacho-Cervantes , M , Ojanguren , A F , Domínguez-Domínguez , O & Magurran , A E 2018 , ' Sociability between invasive guppies and native topminnows ' , PLoS One , vol. 13 , no. 2 , e0192539 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192539
Publication
PLoS One
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1932-6203Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2018 Camacho-Cervantes et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Description
This investigation was funded by the European Research Council though a grant (project BioTIME 250189) awarded to AEM and the Concejo Estatal de Ciencia y Tecnología del Estado de Michoacán through a grant awarded to MCC.Collections
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