Phylogeographic past and invasive presence of Arion pest slugs in Europe

Arion vulgaris (syn. A. lusitanicus) is the most destructive pest slug in Europe. The species has been regarded a classic case of an ongoing biological invasion with negative economic and ecological impact in many European countries, but this status has recently been contested. In this study, we assessed mitochondrial and autosomal genetic diversity in populations of A. vulgaris across the entire distribution range in order to characterize its evolutionary history. Mitochondrial diversity in A. vulgaris was strongly reduced compared with the closely related and largely codistributed noninvasive species A. rufus and A. ater, indicating a very rapid spread of A. vulgaris through Europe. Autosomal diversity assessed in 632 individuals from 32 populations decreased towards eastern and northern Europe which is consistent with the reported expansion of the species towards these regions in the last decades. Demographic simulations supported very recent population founding events in most of the...普通灰蛞蝓（Arion vulgaris，异名：A. lusitanicus）是欧洲危害最为严重的有害蛞蝓。该物种曾被视为正在进行的生物入侵的典型案例，在诸多欧洲国家造成了负面的经济与生态影响，但这一入侵现状近期遭到了质疑。本研究覆盖该物种的完整分布范围，对其种群的线粒体与常染色体遗传多样性进行评估，以阐明其进化历史。相较于亲缘关系相近且大致同域分布的非入侵性物种红灰蛞蝓（A. rufus）与黑灰蛞蝓（A. ater），普通灰蛞蝓的线粒体多样性显著降低，这表明其在欧洲的扩散速度极快。本研究对来自32个种群的632个个体开展常染色体多样性分析后发现，其多样性自欧洲东部与北部地区呈递减趋势，这与该物种在近数十年向这些区域扩张的研究报道相一致。种群动态模拟结果支持了该物种在绝大多数区域发生的极近期种群奠基事件……