“Enemy Release” as an explanation for the success of invasive freshwater mussels
Main funder
Project timetable
Project start date: 01/05/2020
Project end date: 30/04/2024
Summary
Aim 1. To compare parasite species richness and prevalence of infection and intensity of infection within sympatric populations of native and invasive freshwater mussels in Europe (field study, Europe), in order to test the prediction of Enemy Release Hypothesis that “invasive species enjoy lower parasite pressure in introduced area than the native species”.
Aim 2. To compare parasite species richness, prevalence of infection and intensity of parasitism and prevalence of infection of the invasive species between the introduced area (Europe) and the original area (China) in order to test the prediction of Enemy Release Hypothesis that “invasive species are released from their enemies during the process of introduction to new area”.
Aim 3. To investigate the effect of parasitism on reproduction and growth (i.e. fitness) of mussels to explore a) the key assumption of Enemy Release Hypothesis, that “parasites are costly”, and the prediction of the Enemy Release Hypothesis that local parasites are more virulent for the local (native) mussels than for the foreign (invasive) mussels.
Aim 4. To investigate how relatedness and time since introduction affect the parasitism of Asian invader mussels by local mussel parasites in Europe. Invasive species introduced a long time ago should have more local parasites than newcomers, because the local parasites should adapt to use new, invasive hosts by time. On the other hand, invasive species more related to local mussels should have more parasites, since it should be easier for the local parasites to adapt to newcomer if they are close relatives.
Aim 2. To compare parasite species richness, prevalence of infection and intensity of parasitism and prevalence of infection of the invasive species between the introduced area (Europe) and the original area (China) in order to test the prediction of Enemy Release Hypothesis that “invasive species are released from their enemies during the process of introduction to new area”.
Aim 3. To investigate the effect of parasitism on reproduction and growth (i.e. fitness) of mussels to explore a) the key assumption of Enemy Release Hypothesis, that “parasites are costly”, and the prediction of the Enemy Release Hypothesis that local parasites are more virulent for the local (native) mussels than for the foreign (invasive) mussels.
Aim 4. To investigate how relatedness and time since introduction affect the parasitism of Asian invader mussels by local mussel parasites in Europe. Invasive species introduced a long time ago should have more local parasites than newcomers, because the local parasites should adapt to use new, invasive hosts by time. On the other hand, invasive species more related to local mussels should have more parasites, since it should be easier for the local parasites to adapt to newcomer if they are close relatives.
