Different behavioural profiles between invasive and native nudibranchs: means for invasion success?

Abstract

Behaviour is predicted to be a primary determinant of the success of the invasion process during the early phases of colonization. Comparing invaders with sympatric native species may provide a good approach to unravel behavioural traits involved in an invasion process. In this study, we carried out an experimental simulation of the introduction and the acclimatization phase into a new environment and assessed the expression of activity, alertness, and habituation in an invasive Mediterranean population of the South African nudibranch Godiva quadricolor comparing its profiles with those of the sympatric Mediterranean native nudibranchs Cratena peregrina and Caloria quatrefagesi. Individuals of these three species were subjected to three behavioural tests: spontaneous activity, carried out in the introduction phase (immediately after sampling) and after a week of acclimatization; alert test, in which a potential threat was simulated by means of a tactile stimulus, and habituation test, in which the same alert test stimulus was repeated five times at thirty-minute intervals. The invasive G. quadricolor showed higher levels of exploration activity, thigmotaxis, alertness, and sensitization than the native species. These behavioural traits may represent pivotal drivers of the ongoing invasion process.