Reproductive Traits of Invasive Amazon Sailfin Catfish (Pterygoplichthys pardalis) in Association with the Nutrient Concentration of the Invaded Habitat

As one of the main driving factors of biodiversity loss, biological invasion has attracted wide attention. Among the many scientific issues in this field, the most noteworthy one is to figure out the ecological mechanisms behind successful invasions since relevant knowledge is extremely important for conservation and management, but we still know very little about that to some species. In view of this, the notorious sharpbelly Hemiculter leucisculus (Basilewsky, 1855) was selected as the research object, by analyzing the difference between its fitness in the native habitats and the invaded habitats at global scale through data integration technology and body length-weight relationships, this study attempted to reveal the ecological mechanisms underlying the global rapid successful invasion of this invasive species. The results showed that the fitness of the invasive populations was higher than the native populations (t = 3.85; P < 0.05). Based on the above, this study put forward a series of measures and suggestions for prevention and control so as to mitigate the potential harm of its further dispersal in the near future.