Meeting Abstract
Didemnum vexillum is an invasive colonial tunicate which poses serious and ecological and economic threats to invaded regions due to its ability to overgrow and smother native sessile invertebrates, fish eggs, and commercially important aquaculture species. Assessing the genetic diversity of introduced D. vexillum populations in both isolated and well-connected regions can yield valuable insights into the connectivity between populations and aid our understanding of the introduction vectors and dispersal potential of this marine invader. This study examines the COI haplotype diversity in an isolated D. vexillum population in the Umpqua Triangle, Oregon (n=20), and two California populations with higher connectivity via small boat and gear traffic: Drakes Estero (n=7) and Bodega Bay (n=10). Partial mitochondrial COI sequences from 37 samples are analyzed to determine the haplotypic diversity of each of the three populations. Preliminary data confirms low haplotype diversity in the Bodega Bay population, which experiences recreational and small fishing boat traffic. Haplotypes found in invasive populations globally are also found in these and other northeast Pacific populations. t. Our findings agree with the genetic data gathered from other invasive D. vexillum populations, indicating that haplotype diversity is generally limited in introduced populations in comparison to the high levels of haplotype diversity found in the native region of Japan.
