Data from: Colonisation history and genetic diversity: adaptive potential in early stage invasions

The introduction of Anolis cristatellus from the multiple species anole
community of Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles to the island of Dominica
in the Lesser Antilles, with its solitary endemic anole, provides an
example of a very recent, timed, single introduction. We investigate the
geographic origin and adaptive potential of the Dominican population using
a range of methods including mtDNA phylogeography, nuclear microsatellite
variation and multiple paternity studies, as well as heritability
estimates, common garden experiments and comparative geographic studies of
quantitative scalation traits. Phylogeographic analysis of NADH2 and
microsatellite studies suggests that the Dominican population arose from a
set of individuals from the central west area of Puerto Rico within their
endemic range. The multiple-individual inoculation, together with sperm
storage and evidence of multiple paternity indicate genetic variability
and suggest the potential for adaptation by natural selection. Estimates
of heritability, common garden experiments and broad sense QST/FST ratios,
linked to replicated comparisons along elevational transects go some way
to suggesting that the invasive populations may be adapting by natural
selection, in parallel with the endemic anole, in the brief period since
their introduction.