Climatic niche differentiation between native and non‐native ranges is widespread in Ponto‐Caspian amphipods

Abstract

Abstract1. Niche conservatism posits that a species' non‐native populations establish in areas that match their native environmental conditions. Although the Ponto‐Caspian biodiversity hotspot is a major source of freshwater alien species, the extent to which their climatic niches diverge between invaded and native ranges remains poorly understood.2. Using an n‐dimensional hypervolume approach, we quantified climatic niche overlap and inferred patterns of niche differentiation (shift, contraction, or expansion) among native and invaded ranges for 12 widespread Ponto‐Caspian amphipod species (six genera in three families).3. Our results show that all species experience substantially different climatic conditions in their invaded range compared to their native range. The invasive niche either contracted (five species), shifted (four species), expanded and shifted (two species), or shifted and contracted (one species) relative to the native niche.4. We conclude that although the focal taxa share a common geographic origin and evolutionary history, they exhibit disparate patterns of climatic niche change outside their native range. The niche conservatism hypothesis receives mixed support given that half of the studied species underwent niche shifts/expansion. Furthermore, congeners exhibited both identical and contrasting patterns of niche differentiation, suggesting a limited phylogenetic effect.5. The uncovered diversity of niche dynamics among closely related species indicates that each has a unique potential for invasiveness and long‐term persistence. This has important implications for predicting invasion risk and refining management strategies. Our study also underlines the importance of biodiversity hotspots as reservoirs of highly adaptable alien species.