There is another way for new species to invade former settlers＇ habitats and successfully settle there; it is demonstrated that the su- per-population, which plays a key role in changing the world-wide environment, c...There is another way for new species to invade former settlers＇ habitats and successfully settle there; it is demonstrated that the su- per-population, which plays a key role in changing the world-wide environment, can create many new microhabitats in the old habitat, it is these new microhabitats that make new species easily come into the old habitat and settle there without fierce competition with former settlers. In other words, the super-population lead to the differentiation of the worldwide environment, lead to the environmental diversity in the biosphere. Through the differentiation of the environment the super-population produces many new microhabitats for new species, the appearance of many new microhabitats make it possible for new species to coexist with former settlers in the biosphere. The cqexistence of new species with former settlers or with new species＇ ＂ancestors＂ results in the increaseing in the biodiversity of the biosphere. The super-population is the founder of many new environments on the earth, it bridges the habitat diversity and the biodiversity. Now It is easy to explain the phenomenon that new species sometimes coexist with former settlers and even depend on former settlers in the biosphere rather than fierce competition between them.展开更多
Zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha is a Ponto-Caspian species invasive in Europe and North America, with great environmental impact. It lives byssally attached to hard substrata in large aggregations, which is often ex...Zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha is a Ponto-Caspian species invasive in Europe and North America, with great environmental impact. It lives byssally attached to hard substrata in large aggregations, which is often explained by its preferences for conspecifics, though direct evidence for such preferences has been rather limited so far. We studied the reactions of zebra mussels to con- specifics, hypothesizing that they may either be attracted to one another or form aggregations only in the absence of alternative attachment sites, in Experiment 1, we tested mussel tendency to detach from existing druses depending on druse size （2-25 individuals） and substratum type （soft： sand; hard： glass）. Mussels detached significantly more often on the hard substratum and from larger druses compared to soft substratum and smaller druses, respectively. This indicates that mussels tended to avoid conspecifics at high density, particularly when alternative substratum was available. In Experiment 2, we tested the responses of single mussels to distant （3 or 15cm） conspecifics （0, 3, 15 individuals per 2.51 tank） on the sandy substratum. The presence of conspecifics, regardless of their distance and density, resulted in single unattached mussels staying more often in their initial positions. Mussels did not move preferentially towards or away from the conspecifics. Thus, even on unsuitable substratum mussels were not attracted by conspecifics and probably exhibited an avoidance reaction by reducing their movement. This suggests that dense mussel aggregations are formed due to the lack of available alternative attachment sites rather than due to their preferences for conspecifics.展开更多
基金Supported by Science Foundation of Chuxiong Normal University(06YJRC19)National Natural Science Foundation of China(30760040)Key Subject Construction of Chuxiong Normal University(05YJJSXK03)~~
文摘There is another way for new species to invade former settlers＇ habitats and successfully settle there; it is demonstrated that the su- per-population, which plays a key role in changing the world-wide environment, can create many new microhabitats in the old habitat, it is these new microhabitats that make new species easily come into the old habitat and settle there without fierce competition with former settlers. In other words, the super-population lead to the differentiation of the worldwide environment, lead to the environmental diversity in the biosphere. Through the differentiation of the environment the super-population produces many new microhabitats for new species, the appearance of many new microhabitats make it possible for new species to coexist with former settlers in the biosphere. The cqexistence of new species with former settlers or with new species＇ ＂ancestors＂ results in the increaseing in the biodiversity of the biosphere. The super-population is the founder of many new environments on the earth, it bridges the habitat diversity and the biodiversity. Now It is easy to explain the phenomenon that new species sometimes coexist with former settlers and even depend on former settlers in the biosphere rather than fierce competition between them.
文摘Zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha is a Ponto-Caspian species invasive in Europe and North America, with great environmental impact. It lives byssally attached to hard substrata in large aggregations, which is often explained by its preferences for conspecifics, though direct evidence for such preferences has been rather limited so far. We studied the reactions of zebra mussels to con- specifics, hypothesizing that they may either be attracted to one another or form aggregations only in the absence of alternative attachment sites, in Experiment 1, we tested mussel tendency to detach from existing druses depending on druse size （2-25 individuals） and substratum type （soft： sand; hard： glass）. Mussels detached significantly more often on the hard substratum and from larger druses compared to soft substratum and smaller druses, respectively. This indicates that mussels tended to avoid conspecifics at high density, particularly when alternative substratum was available. In Experiment 2, we tested the responses of single mussels to distant （3 or 15cm） conspecifics （0, 3, 15 individuals per 2.51 tank） on the sandy substratum. The presence of conspecifics, regardless of their distance and density, resulted in single unattached mussels staying more often in their initial positions. Mussels did not move preferentially towards or away from the conspecifics. Thus, even on unsuitable substratum mussels were not attracted by conspecifics and probably exhibited an avoidance reaction by reducing their movement. This suggests that dense mussel aggregations are formed due to the lack of available alternative attachment sites rather than due to their preferences for conspecifics.
