Invertebrate eggs can fly: Evidence of waterfowl-mediated gene flow in aquatic invertebrates

American Naturalist
By: , and 

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Abstract

Waterfowl often have been assumed to disperse freshwater aquatic organisms between isolated wetlands, but no one has analyzed the impact of this transport on the population structure of aquatic organisms. For three cladocerans (Daphnia ambigua, Daphnia laevis, and Sida crystallina) and one bryozoan (Cristatella mucedo), we estimated the genetic distances between populations across North America using sequences of several mitochondrial DNA genes and genotypic frequencies at allozyme and microsatellite loci. Waterfowl movements across North America (estimated from band recovery data) explained a significant proportion of the gene flow occurring between populations across the continent for three of the four species, even after controlling for geographic distances between localities. The fourth species, S. crystallina, has propagules less likely to survive desiccation or ingestion by birds. Differences in the capacity to exploit bird-mediated transport are likely to have important consequences for the ecology of aquatic communities and the spread of invasive species.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Invertebrate eggs can fly: Evidence of waterfowl-mediated gene flow in aquatic invertebrates
Series title American Naturalist
DOI 10.1086/427092
Volume 165
Issue 2
Year Published 2005
Language English
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title American Naturalist
First page 274
Last page 280
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