Intracoastal shipping drives patterns of regional population expansion by an invasive marine invertebrate

Ecology and Evolution

John A. Darling²  Leif-Matthias Herborg¹ 

[1] British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada;National Exposure Research Laboratory, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, North Carolina

关键词: Invasive species;    microsatellite;    population genetics;    Styela clava;    vector analysis;   

DOI  :  10.1002/ece3.362

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

Abstract

Understanding the factors contributing to expansion of nonnative populations is a critical step toward accurate risk assessment and effective management of biological invasions. Nevertheless, few studies have attempted explicitly to test hypotheses regarding factors driving invasive spread by seeking correlations between patterns of vector movement and patterns of genetic connectivity. Herein, we describe such an attempt for the invasive tunicate Styela clava in the northeastern Pacific. We utilized microsatellite data to estimate gene flow between samples collected throughout the known range of S. clava in the region, and assessed correlation of these estimates with patterns of intracoastal commercial vessel traffic. Our results suggest that recent shipping patterns have contributed to the contemporary distribution of genetic variation. However, the analysis also indicates that other factors—including a complex invasion history and the influence of other vectors—have partially obscured genetic patterns associated with intracoastal population expansion.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC   
© 2012 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.