Bridgehead effect in the worldwide invasion of the biocontrol harlequin ladybird.

ABSTRACT: Recent studies of the routes of worldwide introductions of alien organisms suggest that many widespread invasions could have stemmed not from the native range, but from a particularly successful invasive population, which serves as the source of colonists for remote new territories. We call here this phenomenon the invasive bridgehead effect. Evaluating the likelihood of such a scenario is heuristically challenging. We solved this problem by using approximate Bayesian computation methods to quantitatively compare complex invasion scenarios based on the analysis of population genetics (microsatellite variation) and historical (first observation dates) data. We applied this approach to the Harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis (HA), a coccinellid native to Asia that was repeatedly introduced

SUBMITTER: Lombaert E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2840033 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature