Marine Biology Commons^™

Differential Invasion Success In Aquatic Invasive Species: The Role Of Within- And Among-Population Genetic Diversity, Kyle W. Wellband, Harri Pettitt-Wade, Aaron T. Fisk, Daniel D. Heath

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications

© 2017, Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland. Despite a well-developed theoretical basis for the role of genetic diversity in the colonization process, contemporary investigations of genetic diversity in biological invasions have downplayed its importance. Observed reductions in genetic diversity have been argued to have a limited effect on the success of establishment and impact based on empirical studies; however, those studies rarely include assessment of failed or comparatively less-successful biological invasions. We address this gap by comparing genetic diversity at microsatellite loci for taxonomically and geographically paired aquatic invasive species. Our four species pairs contain one highly successful and one …