The genetic backburn: using rapid evolution to halt invasions.

ABSTRACT: The impact of an invasive species depends upon the extent of area across which it ultimately spreads. A powerful strategy for limiting impact, then, is to limit spread, and this can most easily be achieved by managing or reinforcing natural barriers to spread. Using a simulation model, we show that rapid evolutionary increases in dispersal can render permeable an otherwise effective barrier. On the other hand, we also show that, once the barrier is reached, and if it holds, resultant evolutionary decreases in dispersal rapidly make the barrier more effective. Finally, we sketch a strategy--the genetic backburn--in which low-dispersal individuals from the range core are translocated to the nearside of the barrier ahead of the oncoming invasion. We find that the genetic backburn--by preventi

SUBMITTER: Phillips BL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4810839 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature