<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Montecristo Island is an integral natural reserve of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park (Central Italy), characterized by a peculiar assemblage of flora and fauna, with several endemic taxa, and also with a high number of alien species. During a soil survey, we found an alien <italic>Oscheius tipulae</italic> Lam &amp; Webster, 1971 isolate, phylogenetically close to others from South America. In this article, we examined the possible pathways of introduction of this nematode. Because of the high number of alien plants in this protected area and the low desiccation survival ability of <italic>O. tipulae</italic>, we hypothesized that the presence of this alien nematode isolate may be related to the soil of introduced plants, although historical association with plant-associated invertebrates is also possible. Further studies with more populations and marker molecules are necessary to investigate the distribution of <italic>O. tipulae</italic> and the possible impact on this natural reserve.</p></abstract>

Montecristo Island is an integral natural reserve of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park (Central Italy), characterized by a peculiar assemblage of flora and fauna, with several endemic taxa, and also with a high number of alien species. During a soil survey, we found an alien Oscheius tipulae Lam & Webster, 1971 isolate, phylogenetically close to others from South America. In this article, we examined the possible pathways of introduction of this nematode. Because of the high number of alien plants in this protected area and the low desiccation survival ability of O. tipulae, we hypothesized that the presence of this alien nematode isolate may be related to the soil of introduced plants, although historical association with plant-associated invertebrates is also possible. Further studies with more populations and marker molecules are necessary to investigate the distribution of O. tipulae and the possible impact on this natural reserve.

<italic>Oscheius tipulae</italic> in Italy: Evidence of an Alien Isolate in the Integral Natural Reserve of Montecristo Island (Tuscany)

Ufficio Territoriale per la Biodiversità di Pratovecchio

Journal of Nematology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

 in Italy: Evidence of an Alien Isolate in the Integral Natural Reserve of Montecristo Island (Tuscany)

Montecristo Island is an integral natural reserve of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park (Central Italy), characterized by a peculiar assemblage of flora and...

Oscheius tipulae in Italy: Evidence of an Alien Isolate in the Integral Natural Reserve of Montecristo Island (Tuscany)

Published Online: Jul 21, 2017

Page range: 8 - 13

Received: Sep 24, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/jofnem-2017-003

© 2016 Giulia Torrini et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.