Project Details
Projekt
Evolutionary Ecology of Mnemiopsis leidyi invasion into North and Baltic Sea
Subject Area
Evolution, Anthropology
Term
from 2009 to 2013
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 117783505
The comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi (Ctenophora) recently invaded North- and Baltic Sea. 18 month after the first occurrence, populations frequently attain >500 individuals /m3, suggesting profound consequences for the pelagic food chain. This project will study the ‘‘paradox of invasions’: how and why are supposedly genetically uniform colonizing populations so successful? - We first determine the source region(s) of Mnemiopsis populations invading North and Baltic Sea, using a combination of high resolution molecular markers (microsatellites and SNPs) and state-of-the art population genetic analysis tools such as assignment tests, Bayesian clustering / approximate computations. We then test for population bottlenecks/ hybridizations resulting from different source pools, as both processes may enhance adaptive evolution. Taking advantage of genetic samples collected very early after first occurrence, we follow the level of genetic diversity displayed by Mnemiopsis populations across the study area over time. We test the hypothesis that the invading population is genetically less diverse than the source, while older invaded areas such as Caspian/Black Sea reveal intermediate levels. In order to address whether invading Mnemiopsis undergoes rapid evolutionary adaptation in its novel environment, genetic divergence among populations will be quantified temporally and spatially using gene-linked SNP loci in combination with genome scans.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
