Can invasions occur without change? A comparison of G-matrices and selection in the peach-potato aphid, Myzus persicae.
Most evolutionary research on biological invasions has focused on changes seen between the native and invaded range for a particular species. However, it is likely that species that live in human-modified habitats in their native range might have evolved specific adaptations to those environments, which increase the likelihood of establishment and spread in similar human-altered environments. From a quantitative genetic perspective, this hypothesis suggests that both native and introduced populations should reside at or near the same adaptive peak. Therefore, we should observe no overall changes in the G (genetic variance-covariance) matrices between native and introduced ranges, and stabilizing selection on fitness-related traits in all populations. We tested these predictions comparing three populations of the worldwide pest Myzus persicae from the Middle East (native range) and the UK and Chile (separately introduced ranges). In general, our results provide mixed support for this idea, but further comparisons of other species are needed. In particular, we found that there has been some limited evolution in the studied traits, with the Middle East population differing from the UK and Chilean populations. This was reflected in the structure of the G-matrices, in which Chile differed from both UK and Middle East populations. Furthermore, the amount of genetic variation was massively reduced in Chile in comparison with UK and Middle East populations. Finally, we found no detectable selection on any trait in the three populations, but clones from the introduced ranges started to reproduce later, were smaller, had smaller offspring, and had lower reproductive fitness than clones from the native range.
Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile P.O. 51110566, Valdivia, Chile.
Leonardo D
LD
Bacigalupe
Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile P.O. 51110566, Valdivia, Chile.
Karin
K
Barrientos
Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile P.O. 51110566, Valdivia, Chile ; Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield Sheffield, S102TN, U.K.
Andrew P
AP
Beckerman
Centre for Ecology & Conservation, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter Cornwall Campus, Penryn, U.K.
Mauricio J
MJ
Carter
Instituto de Biología Vegetal y Biotecnología, Universidad de Talca 2 Norte 685, Talca, Chile.
Christian C
CC
Figueroa
Rothamsted Research West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, U.K.
Stephen P
SP
Foster
Centre for Ecology & Conservation, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter Cornwall Campus, Penryn, U.K ; Department of Genetics, University of Georgia Athens, GA, 30602.
Allen J
AJ
Moore
Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile P.O. 51110566, Valdivia, Chile.
Andrea X
AX
Silva
Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile P.O. 51110566, Valdivia, Chile.
Roberto F
RF
Nespolo
Agriculture; G-matrix; aphids; invasive species; pest