OBSERVATORY
Invasive Amphibian Species Upend a Darwin Idea
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
Published: March 3, 2011
Charles Darwin has had a remarkable record over the past century, not only in the affirmation of evolution by natural selection, but in the number of his more specific ideas that have been proved correct.
He may, however, have been wrong about invasive species, at least where amphibians are concerned. Darwin believed that when an invasive species entered a region where a closely related species already existed, it would most likely be unsuccessful because of a competition for resources.
The marsh frog Pelophylax ridibundus has invaded many European countries.
Sylvain Dubey
“Instead, we found the opposite pattern with amphibians,” said Reid Tingley, a biologist at the University of Sydney in Australia. “When frogs and toads and salamanders invade an area where a similar species exists, they are more, not less, likely to establish themselves.”
He and his colleagues report their findings in the March issue of The American Naturalist.
This is the first study that contradicts Darwin’s invasive species hypothesis using animals. Previous studies using plants have produced mixed results, Mr. Tingley said.
...
Read more here: The New York Times
