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Paths of introduction: Assessing global colonization history of the most successful amphibian invader
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  • Gabriel Jorgewich-Cohen,
  • Rachel Montesinos,
  • Rafael Henrique,
  • Felipe Toledo,
  • Amaël Borzée,
  • Yang Yi,
  • Wang Fei,
  • Takeshi Igawa,
  • Juan Guayasamin,
  • Gabriel Laufer,
  • Wilmar Bolivar,
  • Ariel Rodriguez,
  • Taran Grant
Gabriel Jorgewich-Cohen
Universidade de São Paulo

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Rachel Montesinos
UFMG
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Rafael Henrique
Universidade de São Paulo
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Felipe Toledo
UNICAMP
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Amaël Borzée
Nanjing Forestry University
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Yang Yi
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden
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Wang Fei
ShanghaiTech University
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Takeshi Igawa
Hiroshima University
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Juan Guayasamin
Universidad San Francisco de Quito
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Gabriel Laufer
Museo Nacional de Historia Natural
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Wilmar Bolivar
Universidad del Valle
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Ariel Rodriguez
Tierarztliche Hochschule Hannover
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Taran Grant
Universidade de São Paulo
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Abstract

International socioeconomic relationships form the background that underlies the history of invasive species. Species with economic value, such as the North American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), are more likely to become internationally distributed and to be subsequently introduced to non-native areas and, consequently, become more difficult to control. Using population genetics methods, we investigated the invasion pathways, the connectivity among clusters in different countries and the native population of origin of globally introduced bullfrog populations. Throughout the analysis of seven microsatellite nuclear loci, one fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b locus, and historical information, four main lineages were identified and analyzed along with previous findings. This species’ capability to colonize several countries from few starting lineages highlights the necessity to control new propagule pressure to ensure successful management programs, as high inbreeding and bottleneck effect seem not to diminish the invasive success of this species. There is a consensus between markers that most areas of South America belong to the same genetic population while populations in Asia have a more complex history of introduction.