SM Sehgal Foundation Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur, Bengaluru, 560064, India.
Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India.
Environ Monit Assess. 2023 Nov 3;195(12):1411. doi: 10.1007/s10661-023-12012-z.
Invasive alien species have become the second major threat to biodiversity affecting all three major ecosystems (terrestrial, marine, and freshwater). Increasing drivers such as habitat destruction, expanding horticulture and aquaculture industries, and global pet and food trade have created pathways for exotic species to be introduced leading to severe impacts on recipient ecosystems. Although relatively less studied than terrestrial ecosystems, freshwater ecosystems are highly susceptible to biological invasions. In India, there has been a noticeable increase in the introduction of alien fish species in freshwater environments. In the current study, we aimed to understand how climate change can affect the dynamics of the biological invasion of invasive alien fishes in India. We also evaluated the river-linking project's impact on the homogenization of biota in Indian freshwater bodies. We used species occurrence records with selected environmental variables to assess vulnerable locations for current and future biological invasion using species distribution models. Our study has identified and mapped the vulnerable regions to invasion in India. Our research indicates that the interlinking of rivers connects susceptible regions housing endangered fish species with invasive hotspots. Invasive alien fishes from the source basin may invade vulnerable basins and compete with the native species. Based on the results, we discuss some of the key areas for the management of these invasive alien species in the freshwater ecosystems.
入侵的外来物种已成为影响所有三大生态系统（陆地、海洋和淡水）的生物多样性的第二大主要威胁。栖息地破坏、园艺和水产养殖业的扩张以及全球宠物和食品贸易等不断增加的驱动因素为外来物种的引入创造了途径，从而对受纳生态系统造成严重影响。尽管与陆地生态系统相比，淡水生态系统受到生物入侵的影响相对较小，但它们非常容易受到影响。在印度，淡水环境中引入外来鱼类的现象明显增加。在当前的研究中，我们旨在了解气候变化如何影响入侵外来鱼类在印度的生物入侵动态。我们还评估了河流连接项目对印度淡水生物区系同质化的影响。我们使用物种出现记录和选定的环境变量，使用物种分布模型评估当前和未来生物入侵的脆弱地点。我们的研究已经确定并绘制了印度易受入侵的脆弱地区的地图。我们的研究表明，河流的互联将栖息着濒危鱼类物种的脆弱地区与入侵热点连接起来。来自源流域的入侵外来鱼类可能会入侵脆弱的流域，并与本地物种竞争。根据研究结果，我们讨论了在淡水生态系统中管理这些入侵外来物种的一些关键领域。
