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Genetic evidence challenges the native status of a threatened freshwater fish (Carassius carassius) in England

Jeffries, Daniel L.; Copp, Gordon H.; Maes, Gregory E.; Lawson Handley, Lori; Sayer, Carl D.; Hänfling, Bernd

Authors

Daniel L. Jeffries

Gordon H. Copp

Gregory E. Maes

Carl D. Sayer

Bernd Hänfling



Abstract

© 2017 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. A fundamental consideration for the conservation of a species is the extent of its native range, that is, regions naturally colonized. However, both natural processes and human-mediated introductions can drive species distribution shifts. Ruling out the human-mediated introduction of a species into a given region is vital for its conservation, but remains a significant challenge in most cases. The crucian carp Carassius carassius (L.) is a threatened freshwater fish thought to be native to much of Europe. However, its native status in England is based only on anecdotal evidence. Here, we devise an approach that can be used to empirically test the native status of English fauna. We use this approach, along with 13 microsatellite loci, population structure analyses, and Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC), to test hypotheses for the origins of C. carassius in England. Contrary to the current consensus, we find strong support for the human-mediated introduction of C. carassius into England during the 15th century. This result stimulates an interesting and timely debate surrounding motivations for the conservation of species. We discuss this topic, and the potential for continued conservation of C. carassius in England, despite its non-native origins.

Citation

Jeffries, D. L., Copp, G. H., Maes, G. E., Lawson Handley, L., Sayer, C. D., & Hänfling, B. (2017). Genetic evidence challenges the native status of a threatened freshwater fish (Carassius carassius) in England. Ecology and Evolution, 7(9), 2871-2882. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2831

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 28, 2017
Online Publication Date Mar 22, 2017
Publication Date May 1, 2017
Deposit Date Jul 6, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Ecology and Evolution
Electronic ISSN 2045-7758
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 7
Issue 9
Pages 2871-2882
DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2831
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/912813
Publisher URL https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ece3.2831

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Copyright Statement
© 2017 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.





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