Institution: | 1. Center for Conservation Research and Training, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii, 3050 Maile Way, Gilmore 408, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, U.S.A.
Department of Zoology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, U.S.A.
3Corresponding author;2. e-mail: meyerwal@hawaii.edu;3. Center for Conservation Research and Training, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii, 3050 Maile Way, Gilmore 408, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, U.S.A. |
Abstract: | To protect the remaining biodiversity on tropical islands it is important to predict the elevational ranges of non-native species. We evaluated two hypotheses by examining land snail faunas on the eastern (windward) side of the island of Hawaii: (1) the latitude of a species' native region can be used to predict its potential elevational range and (2) non-native temperate species, which experience greater climatic fluctuations in their native range, are more likely to become established at higher elevations and to extend over larger elevational ranges than non-native tropical species. All non-native tropical species were distributed patchily among sites ≤500 m and occupied small elevational ranges, whereas species introduced from temperate regions occupied wide elevational ranges and formed a distinct fauna spanning elevations 500–2000 m. Most native land snail species and ecosystems occur >500 m in areas dominated by temperate non-native snail and slug species. Therefore, knowing the native latitudinal region of a non-native species is important for conservation of tropical island ecosystems because it can be translated into potential elevational range if those species are introduced. Because temperate species will survive in tropical locales particularly at high elevation, on many tropical islands the last refuges of the native species, preventing introduction of temperate species should be a conservation priority. |