Range expansion of an invasive species through a heterogeneous landscape - the case of American mink in Scotland

Elaine J. Fraser; Xavier Lambin; Justin M. J. Travis; Lauren A. Harrington; Stephen C. F. Palmer; Greta Bocedi; David W. Macdonald

doi:10.1111/ddi.12303

Range expansion of an invasive species through a heterogeneous landscape - the case of American mink in Scotland

Elaine J. Fraser, Xavier Lambin^*, Justin M. J. Travis, Lauren A. Harrington, Stephen C. F. Palmer, Greta Bocedi, David W. Macdonald

^*Corresponding author for this work

University of Oxford

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Abstract

AimThe impact of invasive species is one of the main causes of biodiversity loss world-wide, and as a result, there is much interest in understanding the pattern and rate of expansion of species outside their native range. We aimed to characterize the range expansion of the American mink (Neovison vison) invading from multiple introduction points through a varied landscape bounded by coastline to better understand and manage its spread.

LocationScotland, UK.

MethodWe collated and used records of mink presence to calculate the historical range and rate of range expansion at successive time intervals. We used a presence-only model to predict habitat suitability and a newly developed individual-based modelling platform, RangeShifter, to simulate range expansion.

ResultsRecords showed that mink were distributed throughout Scotland, except in the far north. We found that the rate of spread varied both spatially and temporally and was related to landscape heterogeneity. Habitat suitable for mink in west Scotland is restricted to the coast.

Main conclusionsWe concluded that temporal and spatial variation in range expansion is attributable to heterogeneity within the landscape and also demonstrated that the potential for long-distance dispersal does not necessarily facilitate range expansion when availability of suitable habitat occurs in narrow strips and/or is fragmented. We have highlighted methodological gaps in calculating rates of expansion in invasive species but have demonstrated alternative methods that successfully utilize presence-only data. Our study reaffirms that invasive species will colonize less favourable habitats and highlights the need to remain vigilant of their potential for expansion even when distribution appears to be static for a time.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	888-900
Number of pages	13
Journal	Diversity and Distributions
Volume	21
Issue number	8
Early online date	28 Jan 2015
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12303
Publication status	Published - Aug 2015

Bibliographical note

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank Scottish Natural Heritage, particularly Iain Macleod and Rob Raynor, for data and funding.We are grateful to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, especially Jonathan Reynolds, Vincent Wildlife Trust and Scottish Mink Initiative for supplying data of mink presence and to the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology for the Land Cover Map data. XL acknowledges support from NERC grant NE/J01396X/1

Keywords

American mink
biological invasions
habitat availability
heterogeneous landscape
invasive species
multiple introduction points
range expansion
mustela-vison
genetic structure
home ranges
Baltic Sea
spread
populations
introductions
distributions
dynamics
seabirds

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10.1111/ddi.12303Licence: CC BY

Range expansion of an invasive species through a heterogeneous landscape – the case of American mink in Scotland
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Final published version, 1.47 MBLicence: CC BY

Xavier Lambin
- Biological Sciences, Aberdeen Centre For Environmental Sustainability - Chair in Zoology
Person: Academic

Cite this

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title = "Range expansion of an invasive species through a heterogeneous landscape - the case of American mink in Scotland",

abstract = "AimThe impact of invasive species is one of the main causes of biodiversity loss world-wide, and as a result, there is much interest in understanding the pattern and rate of expansion of species outside their native range. We aimed to characterize the range expansion of the American mink (Neovison vison) invading from multiple introduction points through a varied landscape bounded by coastline to better understand and manage its spread.LocationScotland, UK.MethodWe collated and used records of mink presence to calculate the historical range and rate of range expansion at successive time intervals. We used a presence-only model to predict habitat suitability and a newly developed individual-based modelling platform, RangeShifter, to simulate range expansion.ResultsRecords showed that mink were distributed throughout Scotland, except in the far north. We found that the rate of spread varied both spatially and temporally and was related to landscape heterogeneity. Habitat suitable for mink in west Scotland is restricted to the coast.Main conclusionsWe concluded that temporal and spatial variation in range expansion is attributable to heterogeneity within the landscape and also demonstrated that the potential for long-distance dispersal does not necessarily facilitate range expansion when availability of suitable habitat occurs in narrow strips and/or is fragmented. We have highlighted methodological gaps in calculating rates of expansion in invasive species but have demonstrated alternative methods that successfully utilize presence-only data. Our study reaffirms that invasive species will colonize less favourable habitats and highlights the need to remain vigilant of their potential for expansion even when distribution appears to be static for a time.",

keywords = "American mink, biological invasions, habitat availability, heterogeneous landscape, invasive species, multiple introduction points, range expansion, mustela-vison, genetic structure, home ranges, Baltic Sea, spread, populations, introductions , distributions, dynamics, seabirds",

author = "Fraser, {Elaine J.} and Xavier Lambin and Travis, {Justin M. J.} and Harrington, {Lauren A.} and Palmer, {Stephen C. F.} and Greta Bocedi and Macdonald, {David W.}",

note = "ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank Scottish Natural Heritage, particularly Iain Macleod and Rob Raynor, for data and funding.We are grateful to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, especially Jonathan Reynolds, Vincent Wildlife Trust and Scottish Mink Initiative for supplying data of mink presence and to the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology for the Land Cover Map data. XL acknowledges support from NERC grant NE/J01396X/1",

year = "2015",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1111/ddi.12303",

language = "English",

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pages = "888--900",

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T1 - Range expansion of an invasive species through a heterogeneous landscape - the case of American mink in Scotland

AU - Fraser, Elaine J.

AU - Lambin, Xavier

AU - Travis, Justin M. J.

AU - Harrington, Lauren A.

AU - Palmer, Stephen C. F.

AU - Bocedi, Greta

AU - Macdonald, David W.

N1 - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank Scottish Natural Heritage, particularly Iain Macleod and Rob Raynor, for data and funding.We are grateful to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, especially Jonathan Reynolds, Vincent Wildlife Trust and Scottish Mink Initiative for supplying data of mink presence and to the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology for the Land Cover Map data. XL acknowledges support from NERC grant NE/J01396X/1

PY - 2015/8

Y1 - 2015/8

N2 - AimThe impact of invasive species is one of the main causes of biodiversity loss world-wide, and as a result, there is much interest in understanding the pattern and rate of expansion of species outside their native range. We aimed to characterize the range expansion of the American mink (Neovison vison) invading from multiple introduction points through a varied landscape bounded by coastline to better understand and manage its spread.LocationScotland, UK.MethodWe collated and used records of mink presence to calculate the historical range and rate of range expansion at successive time intervals. We used a presence-only model to predict habitat suitability and a newly developed individual-based modelling platform, RangeShifter, to simulate range expansion.ResultsRecords showed that mink were distributed throughout Scotland, except in the far north. We found that the rate of spread varied both spatially and temporally and was related to landscape heterogeneity. Habitat suitable for mink in west Scotland is restricted to the coast.Main conclusionsWe concluded that temporal and spatial variation in range expansion is attributable to heterogeneity within the landscape and also demonstrated that the potential for long-distance dispersal does not necessarily facilitate range expansion when availability of suitable habitat occurs in narrow strips and/or is fragmented. We have highlighted methodological gaps in calculating rates of expansion in invasive species but have demonstrated alternative methods that successfully utilize presence-only data. Our study reaffirms that invasive species will colonize less favourable habitats and highlights the need to remain vigilant of their potential for expansion even when distribution appears to be static for a time.

AB - AimThe impact of invasive species is one of the main causes of biodiversity loss world-wide, and as a result, there is much interest in understanding the pattern and rate of expansion of species outside their native range. We aimed to characterize the range expansion of the American mink (Neovison vison) invading from multiple introduction points through a varied landscape bounded by coastline to better understand and manage its spread.LocationScotland, UK.MethodWe collated and used records of mink presence to calculate the historical range and rate of range expansion at successive time intervals. We used a presence-only model to predict habitat suitability and a newly developed individual-based modelling platform, RangeShifter, to simulate range expansion.ResultsRecords showed that mink were distributed throughout Scotland, except in the far north. We found that the rate of spread varied both spatially and temporally and was related to landscape heterogeneity. Habitat suitable for mink in west Scotland is restricted to the coast.Main conclusionsWe concluded that temporal and spatial variation in range expansion is attributable to heterogeneity within the landscape and also demonstrated that the potential for long-distance dispersal does not necessarily facilitate range expansion when availability of suitable habitat occurs in narrow strips and/or is fragmented. We have highlighted methodological gaps in calculating rates of expansion in invasive species but have demonstrated alternative methods that successfully utilize presence-only data. Our study reaffirms that invasive species will colonize less favourable habitats and highlights the need to remain vigilant of their potential for expansion even when distribution appears to be static for a time.

KW - American mink

KW - biological invasions

KW - habitat availability

KW - heterogeneous landscape

KW - invasive species

KW - multiple introduction points

KW - range expansion

KW - mustela-vison

KW - genetic structure

KW - home ranges

KW - Baltic Sea

KW - spread

KW - populations

KW - introductions

KW - distributions

KW - dynamics

KW - seabirds

U2 - 10.1111/ddi.12303

DO - 10.1111/ddi.12303

M3 - Article

SN - 1366-9516

VL - 21

SP - 888

EP - 900

JO - Diversity and Distributions

JF - Diversity and Distributions

IS - 8

ER -

Range expansion of an invasive species through a heterogeneous landscape - the case of American mink in Scotland

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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Xavier Lambin

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