Abstract
Understanding the origins and genetic relationships of invasive, non-native species is critical to informing conservation and management practices. Pistia stratiotes is one such species—a pantropical floating plant that is problematic in many regions of the world, including Florida, USA. Questions surrounding the origins of P. stratiotes populations in Florida and elsewhere prompted a molecular investigation using five chloroplast and one mitochondrial DNA sequences. A total of 154 samples were collected from 14 countries. The sequence data was analyzed using haplotype network analysis, maximum likelihood phylogenetics and species delimitation tools. These data show that P. stratiotes comprises a minimum of seven distinct haplotypic clades worldwide, three of which differ enough to likely represent different species. Florida, which was more heavily sampled than other regions of the world, contains four of the clades—one of which shows evidence of being pan-Caribbean with sufficient variation to suggest regional (including Florida) nativity. A second clade, present in the U.S. Gulf States and California, may be native within this range, however more sampling is needed to fully describe its distribution and nativity. Another clade, predominant in southern Florida and the St. Johns River, likely originated in South America. Results are discussed in the broader context of the effects of cryptic species on weed management, including biological control efforts.
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This research was conducted under USDA CRIS Project Numbers 6629-22000-009-00D, 6629-22000-010-00D, and 6629-22000-011-00D.
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Madeira, P.T., Dray, F.A. & Tipping, P.W. The phytogeography and genetic diversity of the weedy hydrophyte, Pistia stratiotes L.. Biol Invasions 24, 2613–2634 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02798-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02798-3