Abstract
Invasive species can encounter environments different from their source populations, which may trigger rapid adaptive changes after introduction (niche shift hypothesis). To test this hypothesis, we investigated whether postintroduction evolution is correlated with contrasting environmental conditions between the European invasive and source ranges in the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus. The comparison of environmental niches occupied in European and source population ranges revealed more than 96% overlap between invasive and source niches, supporting niche conservatism. However, we found evidence for postintroduction genetic evolution by reanalyzing a published ddRADseq genomic dataset from 90 European invasive populations using genotype–environment association (GEA) methods and generalized dissimilarity modeling (GDM). Three loci, among which a putative heat‐shock protein, exhibited significant allelic turnover along the gradient of winter precipitation that could be associated with ongoing range expansion. Wing morphometric traits weakly correlated with environmental gradients within Europe, but wing size differed between invasive and source populations located in different climatic areas. Niche similarities between source and invasive ranges might have facilitated the establishment of populations. Nonetheless, we found evidence for environmental‐induced adaptive changes after introduction. The ability to rapidly evolve observed in invasive populations (genetic shift) together with a large proportion of unfilled potential suitable areas (80%) pave the way to further spread of Ae. albopictus in Europe.
Highlights
Human movements have dramatically increased in the past decades, promoting the intentional or accidental introduction of species into new regions often far removed from their natural ranges (Banks, Paini, Bayliss, & Hodda, 2015; Hulme, 2009)
We address the question of niche shift versus niche conservatism during the invasive range expansion of Ae. albopictus in Europe, by comparing the ecological characteris‐ tics of European invasive populations to the characteristics of their North American and Chinese source populations (Sherpa, Blum, Capblancq, et al, 2019)
Following our initial reports on the role of genetic diversity in in‐ vasive populations and preexisting adaptations within the native range, we evaluated whether niche characteristics could be an essential predictor of Ae. albopictus invasive success in Europe
Summary
Human movements have dramatically increased in the past decades, promoting the intentional or accidental introduction of species into new regions often far removed from their natural ranges (Banks, Paini, Bayliss, & Hodda, 2015; Hulme, 2009). For invasive species undergoing range expansion, genes essential for local adaptation are expected to present shifts in allele frequencies along environ‐ mental gradients (Dudaniec, Yong, Lancaster, Svensson, & Hansson, 2018; Fitzpatrick & Keller, 2015) Other traits such as morphological, physiological, or life‐history traits that often show heritable varia‐ tion may evolve rapidly in response to new selective pressures (Lynch & Walsh, 1998; Nosil, 2012; Thompson, 1998). We address the question of niche shift versus niche conservatism during the invasive range expansion of Ae. albopictus in Europe, by comparing the ecological characteris‐ tics of European invasive populations to the characteristics of their North American and Chinese source populations (Sherpa, Blum, Capblancq, et al, 2019). Traits potentially under current selection within Europe were compared to their source populations
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