title: MtDNA metagenomics reveals large-scale invasion of belowground arthropod communities by introduced species.
abstract: Using a series of standardized sampling plots within forest ecosystems in remote oceanic islands, we reveal fundamental differences between the structuring of aboveground and belowground arthropod biodiversity that are likely due to large-scale species introductions by humans. Species of beetle and spider were sampled almost exclusively from single islands, while soil-dwelling Collembola exhibited more than tenfold higher species sharing among islands. Comparison of Collembola mitochondrial metagenomic data to a database of more than 80 000 Collembola barcode sequences revealed almost 30% of sampled island species are genetically identical, or near identical, to individuals sampled from often very distant geographic regions of the world. Patterns of mtDNA relatedness among Collembola implicate human-mediated species introductions, with minimum estimates for the proportion of introduced species on the sampled islands ranging from 45% to 88%. Our results call for more attention to soil mesofauna to understand the global extent and ecological consequences of species introductions.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, a-6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cicconardi
authors.affiliation: CE3C - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group and Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Ambiente, Universidade dos Açores, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila s/n, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, Portugal.
authors.forename: Paulo A V
authors.initials: PAV
authors.lastname: Borges
authors.affiliation: UMR PVBMT, Peuplements Végétaux et Bio-agresseurs en Milieu Tropical, Université de La Réunion, 15 avenue René Cassin, CS 93002, 97 744, Saint Denis Cedex 9, Reunion Island, France.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Strasberg
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Animal y Edafología y Geología, Universidad de La Laguna, C/Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez, 38206, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Oromí
authors.affiliation: Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, IPNA-CSIC, 38206, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
authors.forename: Heriberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: López
authors.affiliation: Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, IPNA-CSIC, 38206, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Pérez-Delgado
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique, UMR 5174 CNRS-Université Paul Sabatier-ENFA, 31062, Toulouse Cedex 9, France.
authors.forename: Juliane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Casquet
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biodiversidad Molecular y Banco de ADN, Jardín Botánico Canario 'Viera y Clavijo' - Unidad Asociada CSIC, Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Camino del Palmeral 15 de Tafira Alta, 35017, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
authors.forename: Juli
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caujapé-Castells
authors.affiliation: Island Ecology and Biogeography Research Group, Instituto de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias (IUETSPC), Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, 38206, Spain.
authors.forename: José María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Fernández-Palacios
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique, UMR 5174 CNRS-Université Paul Sabatier-ENFA, 31062, Toulouse Cedex 9, France.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thébaud
authors.affiliation: Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, IPNA-CSIC, 38206, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.|School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
authors.forename: Brent C
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4067-9858
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Emerson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods / Q000145:classification*; D044822:Biodiversity; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D065928:Forests; D058865:Introduced Species; D062312:Islands; D056186:Metagenomics
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: introduced species; invertebrate; island biogeography; mesofauna; soil