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Cryptic introductions and the interpretation of island biodiversity
Author(s) -
Avery Julian D.,
Fonseca Dina M.,
Campagne Pascal,
Lockwood Julie L.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1111/mec.12236
Subject(s) - biology , ecology , species complex , biodiversity , colonization , mainland , subspecies , introduced species , invasive species , population , habitat , biochemistry , demography , sociology , gene , phylogenetic tree
Species with cryptic origins (i.e. those that cannot be reliably classed as native or non‐native) present a particular challenge to our understanding of the generation and maintenance of biodiversity. Such species may be especially common on islands given that some islands have had a relatively recent history of human settlement. It is likely that select island species considered native might have achieved their current distributions via direct or indirect human actions. As an example, we explore the origins of eastern bluebirds ( S ialia sialis bermudensis ) on the island of B ermuda. Considered native to the island and a distinct subspecies, this population has diverged in morphology relative to mainland N orth A merica. Using microsatellite markers and simulation of island colonization, we show that the Bermuda population of bluebirds is the likely result of a single colonization event that occurred during the 1600s, making this a cryptic invader. To our knowledge, this is one of the youngest examples of a terrestrial vertebrate cryptic invader. We suggest that the eastern bluebird is not an isolated case of cryptic invader on either Bermuda or elsewhere and that caution be exercised when studying present‐day distributions of organisms.