Biological invasions can begin with just one insect: York
U study
TORONTO, September 12,
2007 -- A
new study by York University biologists
Amro Zayed and Laurence Packer has shown that a lone insect
can initiate a biological invasion.
Zayed,
a recent graduate of Packer’s lab, examined patterns of
genetic diversity in both native European and
invasive North American populations of a solitary bee. He
concluded that the invasion was most likely founded by one
mated female.
“This is a
shocking result, especially since bees suffer from huge
genetic problems in small populations,” says Zayed, now a
postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Entomology at the
University of Illinois.
“We’re now seeing
that the introduction of even one single insect can cause a
potentially costly invasion, so we have to be extremely
vigilant with reducing the number of animals that are
unintentionally transported around the globe,” he
says.
The
study contradicts a popular theory of invasive biology: the
more individuals introduced to an area, the higher the success
of the invasion. This concept is commonly referred to as the
“propagule pressure hypothesis.”
Zayed
adds that numbers are not the only factor controlling the
success of invasions. “Chance and the specific characteristics
of invasive species and their introduced habitats can be more
important,” he says.
Packer,
a professor in York’s Department of Biology,
notes that exotic invasive species are considered a major
threat to biodiversity conservation, and can cause huge
economic losses.
“Understanding
how exotic species establish and spread in their new habitats
is the first step to solving the invasive species problem,”
Packer says.
The
study was published today in the open access journal PLoS
ONE. It can be viewed at: http://www.plosone.org/doi/pone.0000868 .
York
University is the
leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in
Canada. York offers
a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and
graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most
international city. The third largest university in the
country, York is host to a dynamic
academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and
staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s
11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious,
groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting
across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and
collaborative approach is preparing students for the future
and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world
challenges. York University is an
autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
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Media
contact:
Melissa
Hughes, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100
x22097 / mehughes@yorku.ca
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