Data from: Transpacific coalescent pathways of coconut rhinoceros beetle biotypes: resistance to biological control catalyzes resurgence of an old pest

Biological control agents have several advantages over chemical control
for pest management, including the capability to restore ecosystem balance
with minimal non-target effects and a lower propensity for targets to
develop resistance. These factors are particularly important in the
invasive species control. The coconut rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes
rhinoceros Linnaeus) is a major palm pest that invaded many Pacific
islands in the early 20th century through human-mediated dispersal.
Application of the Oryctes nudivirus in the 1960’s successfully halted the
beetle’s first invasion wave and made it a textbook example of successful
biological control. However, a recently discovered O. rhinoceros biotype
that is resistant to the nudivirus appears to be correlated with a new
invasion wave. We performed a population genomics analysis of 172 O.
rhinoceros from seven regions, including native and invasive populations,
to reconstruct invasion pathways and explore correlation between recent
invasions and biotypes. From ddRAD sequencing, we generated datasets
ranging from 4,000 to 209,000 loci using STACKS and IPYRAD software
pipelines and compared genetic signal in downstream clustering and
phylogenetic analyses. Analysis suggests that the O. rhinoceros resurgence
is mediated by the nudivirus-resistant biotype. Genomic data has proven
essential to understanding the new O. rhinoceros biotype’s, invasion
patterns and interactions with the original biotype. Such information is
crucial to optimization of strategies for quarantine and control of
resurgent pests. Our results demonstrate that while invasions are
relatively rare events, new introductions can have significant ecological
consequences, and quarantine vigilance is required even in previously
invaded areas.