Invasive species are a major threat to global biodiversity. The US state of Florida is especially susceptible to the spread of exotic reptiles due to its subtropical climate, disturbed habitats, and robust pet trade. The Argentine black-and-white tegu (Salvator merianae) is a large, omnivorous lizard currently established in two different regions of Southern Florida. These two populations pose potential threats to sensitive ground nesting species such as gopher tortoises, American crocodiles, and migratory birds. At present, the introduction histories of these populations and the degree to which they are connected by gene flow are largely unknown. To address these issues, we genotyped S. merianae from Hillsborough and Miami-Dade Counties at ten microsatellite loci to assess intrapopulation genetic diversity, the degree of gene flow between populations, and compare the plausibilities of several potential introduction scenarios. Our results indicate that both populations have low genetic diversity [mean number of effective alleles across loci in both populations = 2.09 and are highly differentiated from each other (GST = 0.170; G″ST = 0.545)]. In addition, our results suggest that these populations underwent a bottleneck event prior to their divergence. We discuss what our results suggest about the histories of Florida’s invasive tegu populations, as well as how they inform ongoing management strategies.

中文翻译：

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深入了解佛罗里达州阿根廷黑白特古 (Salvator merianae) 的引入历史和种群遗传动态

入侵物种是全球生物多样性的主要威胁。美国佛罗里达州由于其亚热带气候、受干扰的栖息地和旺盛的宠物贸易，特别容易受到外来爬行动物的传播。阿根廷黑白特古蜥蜴（Salvator merianae）是一种大型杂食蜥蜴，目前栖息在佛罗里达州南部的两个不同地区。这两个种群对地鼠陆龟、美洲鳄鱼和候鸟等敏感的地面筑巢物种构成潜在威胁。目前，这些种群的引入历史以及它们通过基因流的联系程度在很大程度上是未知的。为了解决这些问题，我们对来自 Hillsborough 和 Miami-Dade 县的 10 个微卫星位点的 S. merianae 进行基因分型，以评估种群内遗传多样性，种群之间基因流动的程度，并比较几种潜在引入情景的合理性。我们的结果表明，两个种群的遗传多样性都很低[两个种群中跨位点的有效等位基因的平均数 = 2.09，并且彼此高度区分（GST = 0.170；G″ST = 0.545）]。此外，我们的结果表明，这些种群在发散之前经历了瓶颈事件。我们讨论了我们的结果对佛罗里达州入侵特古种群历史的建议，以及它们如何为持续的管理策略提供信息。09 并且彼此高度区分（GST = 0.170；G″ST = 0.545）]。此外，我们的结果表明，这些种群在发散之前经历了瓶颈事件。我们讨论了我们的结果对佛罗里达州入侵特古种群历史的建议，以及它们如何为持续的管理策略提供信息。09 并且彼此高度区分（GST = 0.170；G″ST = 0.545）]。此外，我们的结果表明，这些种群在发散之前经历了瓶颈事件。我们讨论了我们的结果对佛罗里达州入侵特古种群历史的建议，以及它们如何为持续的管理策略提供信息。