Title
Origin of the green iguana (Iguana iguana) invasion in the greater Caribbean Region and Fiji
Date Issued
01 August 2021
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
De Jesús Villanueva C.N.
Falcón W.
Papa R.
Malone C.L.
Universidad de Puerto Rico
Publisher(s)
Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Abstract
Invasive populations of green iguanas (Iguanidae: Iguana iguana) are widely established beyond their native Central, South American, and Lesser Antillean range in various islands of the Pacific, Florida USA, and in the Greater Caribbean Region. Although widespread, information about these invasions is scarce. Here we determine the origin of invasive populations of green iguanas in Puerto Rico, Fiji, The Caymans, Florida USA, The Dominican Republic, the US Virgin Islands (USVI) of St. Thomas and St. Croix, and a U.S.A pet store. We sampled 120 individuals from these locations and sequenced one mitochondrial (ND4) and two nuclear (PAC and NT3) loci. We also include a preliminary characterization of population structure throughout Puerto Rico using six microsatellite loci to genotype individuals across 10 sampling sites. Comparing the genealogical relationships of all our samples to published sequencing data from the native range, we found that sampled populations were largely a product of populations from Colombia and El Salvador; two countries with multiple, industrial-size pet iguana farming operations. Notably, we found that haplotypes detected exclusively in the USVI and Puerto Rico’s outlying island of Vieques are closely linked to green iguanas native to Saba and Montserrat (Lesser Antilles); a clade not reported in the pet trade. Our population genetic analyses did not reveal isolation among sampling sites in Puerto Rico, rather the evidence supported admixture across the island. This study highlights the roles of the pet trade and lack of regulation in the spread of green iguanas beyond their native range.
Start page
2591
End page
2610
Volume
23
Issue
8
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Zoología, Ornitología, Entomología, ciencias biológicas del comportamiento
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85104851271
Source
Biological Invasions
ISSN of the container
13873547
Sponsor(s)
This work was funded by The National Science Foundation through The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Puerto Rico chapter—Bridge to the doctorate and Undergraduate Research Opportunities (HRD-1139888) to CDJV, The Department of Biology of University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras and The office of the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research FIPI to DCJV and RP. The sequencing facility used in this study was supported by an Institutional Development Award Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Grant P20GM103475 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, a component of the NIH; the Bioinformatics Research Core of the INBRE. We would like to thank the following organizations and people for granting permits or for providing samples to this study: Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales de Puerto Rico, Francheska Ruiz Canino at the U.S Department of Fish and Wildlife-Vieques Wildlife Refuge, The Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife, Jane Haakonsson at The Ministry of the Environment of the Cayman Islands, Nicole Angeli at the U.S Virgin Islands Division of Fish and Wildlife, Frank Ridgley at the Miami Zoo, Stesha Pasachnik at the Fort Worth Zoo, Rosanna Carreras at the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo, Los Iguaneros de Aguada, Carlos Andrés Rodríguez Gómez at the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust-Para la Naturaleza, Steven Flores, Efraín Martínez Cebollero and Alberto Puente Rolón at the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, Steve Connors, and Brian Layton. We thank Silvia Planas, Yadira Ortíz Ruíz and Dania Rodriguez for their guidance. We thank Dr. Steven Van Belleghem and Dr. Jason Kolbe for their helpful comments and edits. We also thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments and observations that helped to vastly improve this manuscript. All research at the International Institute of Tropical Forestry is done in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus