Unravelling the Interactions Between Endemic and Invasive Plant Species in the Galapagos Islands

Torres, María de Lourdes; Urquía, Diego; Moyle, Leonie C.; Gibson, Michael; Vision, Todd; Reatini, Bryan

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-28089-4_12

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

References 38 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The genetic diversity found in C. odorata in the Galapagos may be explained by these intrinsic biological factors and by the possibility of several introductions that could have increased and modified the genetic composition of the initial populations that arrived in the Galapagos, allowing them to overcome founder effects and bottlenecks, and adapt successfully to their new environment (Kelly et al, 2006;Lawson Handley et al, 2011). This same phenomenon has been observed in other invasive species of the Galapagos Islands, such as mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) in Santa Cruz (Chaves, 2018), and Solanum pimpinellifolium around San Cristobal and Santa Cruz (Torres et al, 2023).…”

Section: Genetic Diversity Of C Odorata In the Galapagos Islandsmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…The Coast of Ecuador is proposed as a possible origin of C. odorata in the Galapagos, but further studies are required to confirm if this is the only source of introduction or if there are other possible sources. This study demonstrates that the combination of genetic analysis, historical records, and field observations are fundamental to reconstruct the invasion history of introduced species in island ecosystems, shedding light on the mechanisms driving the invasions (Torres et al., 2023). This research reports the first genetic study of C. odorata in the Galapagos Islands and the first attempt to unravel its invasion history.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Population genetic studies can help elucidate possible sources of introduction of alien species, invasion routes, long‐term ecological and evolutionary changes (Le Roux & Wieczorek, 2008), and the genetic factors behind the ability of a species to adapt to new environments and become invasive (Torres & Gutiérrez, 2018). Additionally, and very importantly, the study of the genetic diversity of an invasive species can help establish the occurrence of single or multiple introduction events, genetic bottleneck events, and the source of introduction of a species by analyzing shared genetic variation between donor and recipient populations (Chaves, 2018; Torres et al., 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Preliminary insights of the genetic diversity and invasion pathways of Cedrela odorata in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Albuja‐Quintana,

Rivas‐Torres,

Rojas López

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cedrela odorata is considered the second most invasive tree species of the Galapagos Islands. Although it is listed in CITES Appendix II and there are population losses in mainland Ecuador, in Galapagos it is paradoxically a species of concern due to its invasive potential. Genetic studies can shed light on the invasion history of introduced species causing effects on unique ecosystems like the Galapagos. We analyzed nine microsatellite markers in C. odorata individuals from Galapagos and mainland Ecuador to describe the genetic diversity and population structure of C. odorata in the Galapagos and to explore the origin and invasion history of this species. The genetic diversity found for C. odorata in Galapagos (He = 0.55) was lower than reported in the mainland (He = 0.81), but higher than other invasive insular plant species, which could indicate multiple introductions. Our results suggest that Ecuador's northern Coastal region is the most likely origin of the Galapagos C. odorata, although further genomic studies, like Whole Genome Sequencing, Rad‐Seq, and/or Whole Genome SNP analyses, are needed to confirm this finding. Moreover, according to our proposed pathway scenarios, C. odorata was first introduced to San Cristobal and/or Santa Cruz from mainland Ecuador. After these initial introductions, C. odorata appears to have arrived to Isabela and Floreana from either San Cristobal or Santa Cruz. Here, we report the first genetic study of C. odorata in the Galapagos and the first attempt to unravel the invasion history of this species. The information obtained in this research could support management and control strategies to lessen the impact that C. odorata has on the islands' local flora and fauna.

show abstract