Signorile, AL;
Lurz, PWW;
Wang, J;
Reuman, DC;
Carbone, C;
(2016)
Mixture or mosaic? Genetic patterns in UK grey squirrels support a human-mediated ‘long-jump’ invasion mechanism.
Diversity and Distributions
, 22
(5)
pp. 566-577.
10.1111/ddi.12424.
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Abstract
AIM: Clarifying whether multiple introductions of a species remain relatively isolated or merge and interbreed is essential for understanding the dynamics of invasion processes. Multiple introductions from different sources can result in a mixture of genetically distinct populations, increasing the total genetic diversity. This mixing can resolve the ‘genetic paradox’, whereby in spite of the relatively small numbers of introduced individuals, the augmented diversity due to this mixing increases adaptability and the ability of the species to spread in new environments. Here, we aim to assess whether the expansion of a successful invader, the Eastern grey squirrel, was partly driven by the merger of multiple introductions and the effects of such a merger on diversity. LOCATION: UK, Ireland. METHODS: We analysed the genetic variation at 12 microsatellite loci of 381 individuals sampled from one historical and 14 modern populations of grey squirrels. RESULTS: Our data revealed that current UK population structure resembles a mosaic, with minimal interpopulation mixing and each element reflecting the genetic make-up of historic introductions. The genetic diversity of each examined population was lower than a US population or a historical UK population. Numbers of releases in a county did not correlate with county-level genetic diversity. Inbreeding coefficients remain high, and effective population sizes remain small. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the conclusion that rapid and large-scale expansion in this species in the UK was not driven by a genetic mixing of multiple introduced populations with a single expansion front, but was promoted by repeated translocations of small propagules. Our results have implications for the management of grey squirrels and other invasive species and also demonstrate how invaders can overcome the genetic paradox, if spread is facilitated by human-mediated dispersal.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Mixture or mosaic? Genetic patterns in UK grey squirrels support a human-mediated ‘long-jump’ invasion mechanism |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1111/ddi.12424 |
| Publisher version: | http://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12424 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2016 The Authors. Diversity and Distributions Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | Admixture; alien species; invasive; long-jump dispersal; Sciurus carolinensis ; translocations |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1538940 |
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