Discussion
One highly successful invasive species occupying three different
continents provides a complex evolutionary system and a unique window
into molecular evolution and adaptation. This study provides intruiging
preliminary data to continue to explore invasion genetics from a global
population perspective. Overall our findings support that low nucleotide
diversity, and small founder populations are not obstacles for rapid
expansion and establishment in new environments (Rollins et al. 2013).
We also find that none of the invasive populations share any haplotypes
with each other, which suggests novel haplotypes may have evolved in
these three regions since their introduction. This finding also
highlights the need for a more comprehensive characterization of the
population genetics of the native range for European starlings.