Spotlight on the invasion of a carabid beetle on an oceanic island over a 105-year period

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Lebouvier, Marc, Lambret, Philippe, Garnier, Alexia, Convey, Peter, Frenot, Yves, Vernon, Philippe, Renault, David
• Other Authors: Ecosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution Rennes (ECOBIO), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Rennes (OSUR)-Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES), Station Biologique de Paimpont CNRS UMR 6653 (OSUR), Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Réserve Naturelle Nationale des Terres Australes Françaises, TAAF, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (M.E.N.E.S.R.), Programme IPEV 136, Institut Polaire Français Paul Emile Victor; the French National Center for Scientifc Research (CNRS, Zone Atelier Antarctique et Subantarctique) and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-07-VULN-004, EVINCE). P. Convey is supported by NERC core funding to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) ‘Biodiversity, Evolution and Adaptation’ Team., ANR-07-VULN-0004,EVINCE,Vulnerability of native communities to invasive insects and climate change in sub-antarctic islands.(2007)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: geo; envir; Antarctic; Kerguelen; Kerguelen Islands; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72754-5; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03001245/file/s41598-020-72754-5.pdf; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03001245

International audience The flightless beetle Merizodus soledadinus, native to the Falkland Islands and southern South America, was introduced to the sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Islands in the early Twentieth Century. Using available literature data, in addition to collecting more than 2000 new survey (presence/absence) records of M. soledadinus over the 1991-2018 period, we confirmed the best estimate of the introduction date of M. soledadinus to the archipelago, and tracked subsequent changes in its abundance and geographical distribution. The range expansion of this flightless insect was initially slow, but has accelerated over the past 2 decades, in parallel with increased local abundance. Human activities may have facilitated further local colonization by M. soledadinus, which is now widespread in the eastern part of the archipelago. This predatory insect is a major threat to the native invertebrate fauna, in particular to the endemic wingless flies Anatalanta aptera and Calycopteryx moseleyi which can be locally eliminated by the beetle. Our distribution data also suggest an accelerating role of climate change in the range expansion of M. soledadinus, with populations now thriving in low altitude habitats. Considering that no control measures, let alone eradication, are practicable, it is essential to limit any further local range expansion of this aggressively invasive insect through human assistance. This study confirms the crucial importance of long term biosurveillance for the detection and monitoring of non-native species and the timely implementation of control measures.