Abstract
The genetic era has revolutionized our perception of biological invasions. Yet, it is usually too late to understand their genesis for efficient management. Here, we take the rare opportunity to reconstruct the scenario of an uprising invasion of the famous water frogs (Pelophylax) in southern France, through a fine-scale genetic survey. We identified three different taxa over less than 200 km2: the autochthonous P. perezi, along with the alien P. ridibundus and P. kurtmuelleri, which have suddenly become invasive. As a consequence, the latter hybridizes and may now form a novel hybridogenetic complex with P. perezi, which could actively promote its replacement. This exceptional situation makes a textbook application of genetics to early-detect, monitor and understand the onset of biological invasions before they pose a continental-wide threat. It further emphasizes the alarming rate of amphibian translocations, both at global and local scales, as well as the outstanding invasive potential of Pelophylax aliens.
Highlights
Species introductions and invasions represent a major threat to biodiversity worldwide
We show that our study area is being invaded by three lineages simultaneously, two of them potentially forming a new hybridogenetic complex
Our study allowed to accurately reconstruct an uprising invasion of the notorious Pelophylax water frogs over a fine-scale spatiotemporal framework, informing on several crucial aspects regarding the invasive amphibians’ issues. We show that this invasion involves multiple taxa, indicative of a myriad of independent introductions at narrow geographic and time scales. It may induce a new hybridogenetic complex that, if not contained, could represent a serious threat to the native water frog species occurring in this part of Europe
Summary
Species introductions and invasions represent a major threat to biodiversity worldwide. Most cases are noticed only after invaders have widely spread, resulting in complex situations difficult to contain, or irreversible (e.g. refs 4, 8 and 13), and not any more informative regarding the genesis of invasions These important issues are well-illustrated by European water frogs (Pelophylax sp.). This situation provides a unique opportunity to characterize a new invasion of Pelophylax frogs in statu nascendi To this end, we conducted a multilocus genetic survey in order to (1) determine the nature of expanding populations, (2) reconstruct the scenario of invasion, (3) get insights into the hybridization potential of the lineages involved and (4) assess the utility of morphological determination methods. This exceptional pattern provides a textbook application of genetic methods for understanding the onset of biological invasions and guide their management, and further emphasizes the alarming rate and invasive potential of Pelophylax aliens
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