Lack of genetic structuring, low effective population sizes and major bottlenecks characterise common and German wasps in New Zealand

Abstract

Invasive species cause severe ecological and economic impacts in their introduced ranges. Vespula wasps, native to Eurasia, are a major threat to New Zealand native ecosystems. Understanding factors that influence the success of wasp invasion is pivotal for the development of control strategies. Here, we compare genetic diversity and structure of Vespula germanica and Vespula vulgaris between regions of their native and introduced ranges using microsatellite markers. Our study found lower diversity and lack of genetic structure for both invasive Vespula species within New Zealand. The significant reduction in allelic richness, gene diversity and effective population size illustrate a major bottleneck in New Zealand V. germanica and V. vulgaris populations. Strong signatures of population structure were found for both Vespula species with two clusters being identified as optimal k, approximately corresponding to the native and the invaded ranges. Our results highlight the fact that the lack of genetic diversity does not impede successful invasions in V. germanica and V. vulgaris and encourage further research into mechanisms that promote the success of invasive social insects. Overall, this study provides insights into the genetics of invasive Vespula wasps that can be useful for the development of efficient management strategies.

The potential for a CRISPR gene drive to eradicate or suppress globally invasive social wasps

“…1 d,e). Most of the genetic variation occurred in the native range, consistent with previous observations of considerably higher levels of intra-specific genetic diversity of Vespula wasps in the native range compared to the introduced populations 19 , 33 , 34 . A substantial reduction in genetic variation in the introduced range, relative to the native, is expected for many invasive species and could facilitate the development of precision drives.…”

“…We were particularly interested in naturally occurring variation of spermatogenesis gene targets, as in-frame variation can induce drive resistance 32 . Alternatively, such intra-specific variation could also enable a precision drive 4 that targets specific genotypes represented in genetically depauperate invasive populations, as found for the Vespula species in New Zealand 33 , 34 . Precision drives could offer a safeguard in that if genetically modified individuals return to their home range, few or a limited number of genotypes in the native range would be affected.…”

Population genetics of the invasive wasp Vespula germanica in South Africa

“…Of these 13, ten loci amplified successfully (Rufa 5, Rufa 19, List 2003, List 2004, List 2007, List 2011, List 2019, VMA-6, VMA-7, R4-114; Supplementary Table 4). We genotyped these ten loci for each of the 62 V. germanica individuals from South Africa following Schmack et al (2019). At the 5′-end of each forward primer, a M13-tag (TGT AAA ACG ACG GCC AGT ) was added.…”

DNA metabarcoding of prey reveals spatial, temporal and diet partitioning of an island ecosystem by four invasive wasps

“…Four invasive vespid species, Vespula vulgaris, Vespula germanica, Polistes chinensis antennalis and Polistes humilis, have established on New Zealand's 'mainland' and many of the surrounding offshore islands (Beggs et al, 2011;Schmack et al, 2019Schmack et al, , 2020. The specific invasion history of vespid wasps on New Zealand's offshore islands is unknown, but all four species are found on many islands (Schmack et al, 2020) and they have been widespread throughout New Zealand for many decades (Clapperton et al, 1989).…”