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Genetic evidence challenges the native status of a threatened freshwater fish (Carassius carassius) in England

Jeffries, DL; Copp, GH; Maes, GE; Lawson Handley, L; Sayer, CD; Hänfling, B; (2017) Genetic evidence challenges the native status of a threatened freshwater fish (Carassius carassius) in England. Ecology and Evolution 10.1002/ece3.2831. Green open access

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Abstract

A fundamental consideration for the conservation of a species is the extent of its native range, that is, regions naturally colonized. However, both natural processes and human-mediated introductions can drive species distribution shifts. Ruling out the human-mediated introduction of a species into a given region is vital for its conservation, but remains a significant challenge in most cases. The crucian carp Carassius carassius (L.) is a threatened freshwater fish thought to be native to much of Europe. However, its native status in England is based only on anecdotal evidence. Here, we devise an approach that can be used to empirically test the native status of English fauna. We use this approach, along with 13 microsatellite loci, population structure analyses, and Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC), to test hypotheses for the origins of C. carassius in England. Contrary to the current consensus, we find strong support for the human-mediated introduction of C. carassius into England during the 15th century. This result stimulates an interesting and timely debate surrounding motivations for the conservation of species. We discuss this topic, and the potential for continued conservation of C. carassius in England, despite its non-native origins.

Type: Article
Title: Genetic evidence challenges the native status of a threatened freshwater fish (Carassius carassius) in England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2831
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2831
Language: English
Additional information: © 2017 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution 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: Approximate Bayesian Computation; introduced species; land bridge; microsatellites; postglacial recolonization
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of Geography
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1546286
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