Blurred lines: Study warns of invasive-native species hybrids

摘要

Researchers studying invasive crawfish in southeastern Missouri discovered the species was interbreeding with native ones, altering the native species’ genetics and reducing their reproductivesuccess.The researchers say the same could be happening in other habitats where native and invasive subsets of the same species are in close contact, blurring the genetic lines in favor of invasive species.Scientists found the hybrid crawfish almost by accident. The team set out to document an updated range of the invasive crawfish, F. virilis, or virile crawfish, in Missouri’s Ozark National ScenicRiverways, but the phenotype and mitochondrial DNA of the invasive virile crawfish and the native spothanded species didn’t add up.