Genetic Diversity of Invasive Species in the Great Lakes Versus Their Eurasian Source Populations: Insights for Risk Analysis

Abstract

Combining DNA variation data and risk assessment procedures offers important diagnostic and monitoring tools for evaluating the relative success of exotic species invasions. Risk assessment may allow us to understand how the numbers of founding individuals, genetic variants, population sources, and introduction events affect successful establishment and spread. This is particularly important in habitats that are "hotbeds" for invasive species--such as the North American Great Lakes. This study compares genetic variability and its application to risk assessment within and among three Eurasian groups and five species that successfully invaded the Great Lakes during the mid 1980s through early 1990s; including zebra and quagga mussels, round and tubenose gobies, and the ruffe. DNA sequences are compared from exotic and native populations in order to evaluate the role of genetic diversity in invasions. Close relatives are also examined, since they often invade in concert and several are saline tolerant and are likely to spread to North American estuaries. Results show that very high genetic diversity characterizes the invasions of all five species, indicating that they were founded by very large numbers of propagules and underwent no founder effects. Genetic evidence points to multiple invasion sources for both dreissenid and goby species, which appears related to especially rapid spread and widespread colonization success in a variety of habitats. In contrast, results show that the ruffe population in the Great Lakes originated from a single founding population source from the Elbe River drainage. Both the Great Lakes and the Elbe River populations of ruffe have similar genetic diversity levels--showing no founder effect, as in the other invasive species. In conclusion, high genetic variability, large numbers of founders, and multiple founding sources likely significantly contribute to the risk of an exotic species introduction's success and persistence.

Distribution and invasion genetics of the quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) in German rivers

“…If the high neutral genetic diversity corresponds to adaptive genetic variation in coding loci, then the expansion of D. rostriformis bugensis may be coupled to enhanced adaptability (Zayed and Whitfield 2008). Similar large-scale introductions, high genetic diversity and no founder effects have been found for D. rostriformis bugensis and D. polymorpha in the Great Lakes (Hebert et al 1989;Marsden et al 1995;Stepien et al 2002Stepien et al , 2005 and in Ireland (Astanei et al 2005) and have been reported for Ponto-Caspian invasive fish species in North America (Stepien et al 1998(Stepien et al , 2005Stepien and Tumeo 2006;Brown and Stepien 2009).…”

A sensitive environmental DNA (eDNA) assay leads to new insights on Ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernua) spread in North America

“…Ruffe, a percid fish native to western and northern Europe, was first observed in North America in the St. Louis River (the westernmost tributary of Lake Superior) in 1986 (Pratt 1988), having likely been introduced via ballast water of vessel(s) originating from a port associated with the Elbe River drainage (Stepien et al 2005). A rapidly reproducing population of Ruffe in the St. Louis River, combined with declines in some native fish populations and a persistent eastward advance, led the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, under the authority of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act, to declare Ruffe a 'nuisance species' in the spring of 1992.…”

The diet of reservoir perch before, during and after establishment of non-native tubenose goby

“…While many recent studies have described the distribution of tubenose goby (Naseka et al, 2005;Hayden and Miner, 2009;Szaloky et al, 2015), its genetic diversity (Dillon and Stepien, 2001;Stepien et al, 2005) and their parasites (Kvach and Oguz, 2009;Huyse et al, 2015;Kvach et al, 2016), little or no information is presently available on the species' relationship with native fish species and its role in the food chain (but see Mikl et al, 2017). The European perch (Perca fluviatilis) is one of the most common fish predators in European waters, and certainly along the rip-rap banks of the Musov reservoir (Adámek et al, 2010).…”