Abstract
We found a new non-native haplotype of Phragmites australis in North America that provides convincing evidence for multiple introductions of this highly invasive reed from Europe. Prior to our detection of this new non-native haplotype, invasion of North America by this reed grass was thought to be limited to a single cp-DNA haplotype–haplotype M. However, we found two sites colonized by haplotype L1 in Quebec, Canada, a haplotype native to northern Europe, Great Britain and Romania. Because the invasion of North America by P. australis is ongoing, and because there is evidence for intra- and inter-specific hybridization and increased fecundity resulting from outcrossing, more attention should be paid to genetic differences and associated vigor of populations of introduced Phragmites across North America.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Jacques Brisson, Sylvie de Blois and Claude Lavoie for their assistance in locating field sites. We thank Carla Lambertini for sharing her data and for helpful comments on this manuscript. We thank the reviewer, Steve Keller and Fred Meyerson for comments on this manuscript. Funding was provided to LAM and JTC by the US National Science Foundation DEB Awards 1049914 and 1050084. Additional funding to LAM was provided by the Fulbright Commission of the United States and the Czech Republic, and the University of Rhode Island College of Environment and Life Sciences Agricultural Experiment Station Project RI00H-332, 311000-6044.
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Meyerson, L.A., Cronin, J.T. Evidence for multiple introductions of Phragmites australis to North America: detection of a new non-native haplotype. Biol Invasions 15, 2605–2608 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0491-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0491-2