Appraising the Genetic Makeup of an Allochthonous Southern Pike Population: An Opportunity to Predict the Evolution of Introgressive Hybridization in Isolated Populations?

ABSTRACT: Biological invasions are a major threat to the conservation of biodiversity, as invasive species affect native biota through competition, predation, pathogen introduction, habitat alteration, and hybridisation. The present study focuses on a southern pike population, Esox cisalpinus (Teleostei: Esocidae), that has been introduced outside the species' native range. Using microsatellite markers, this study's objective was to gather baseline genetic information and assess the presence of hybrids between this species and E. lucius in the introduced population. The resulting estimates of genetic diversity and effective population size are comparable to those observed in the species' native range. Although different methods yield contrasting and uncertain evidence regarding introgr

SUBMITTER: Casu M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9913590 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature