Publication
Title
Non-native species disrupt the worldwide patterns of freshwater fish body size: implications for Bergmann's rule
Author
Abstract
In this study, we test whether established non-native species induce functional changes in natural assemblages. We combined data on the body size of freshwater fish species and a worldwide data set of native and non-native fish species for 1058 river basins. We show that non-native fish species are significantly larger than their native counterparts and are a non-random subset of the worldwide set of fish species. We further show that the median body size of fish assemblages increases in the course of introductions. These changes are the opposite of those expected under several null models. Introductions shift body size patterns related to several abiotic factors (e.g. glacier coverage and temperature) in a way that modifies latitudinal patterns (i.e. Bergmann's rule), especially in the southern hemisphere. Together, these results show that over just the last two centuries human beings have induced changes in the global biogeography of freshwater fish body size, which could affect ecosystem properties.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Ecology letters. - Oxford, 1998, currens
Publication
Oxford : 2010
ISSN
1461-023X [print]
1461-0248 [online]
DOI
10.1111/J.1461-0248.2009.01432.X
Volume/pages
13 :4 (2010) , p. 421-431
ISI
000275635400002
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 12.04.2010
Last edited 23.08.2022
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