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<p>Biological invasions provide unique insights into how ecological strategies and population genetic processes contribute to species success. However, decoupling the effects of functional trait divergence from population genetic structure remains challenging, particularly in biodiversity hotspots where invasive and endemic congeners coexist. This study evaluated the concordance between SSR-based population-genetic structure and field-expressed functional trait variation in invasive and endemic species of two distinct genera in the Kashmir Himalaya. We compared two invasive taxa (<i>Ranunculus distans</i> and <i>Artemisia absinthium</i>) with two narrowly endemic congeners (<i>R</i>. <i>palmatifidus</i> and <i>A. amygdalina</i>), combining population genetic analyses based on 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci (six per genus) with individual-level measurements of growth, leaf morphology, and biomass traits across natural populations. Invasive taxa generally maintained higher or more widely distributed genetic variation, but species-specific AMOVA showed that population structuring differed in a genus-specific manner rather than being uniformly lower in invasive congeners. In <i>Artemisia</i>, among-population variation was higher in the endemic <i>A</i>. <i>amygdalina</i> than in the invasive <i>A</i>. <i>absinthium</i>, whereas in <i>Ranunculus</i>, the invasive <i>R</i>. <i>distans</i> showed higher among-population variation than the endemic <i>R</i>. <i>palmatifidus.</i> Functional analyses revealed clear, trait-specific differentiation between invasive and endemic congeners. Invasive taxa generally occupied a more acquisitive region of trait space, particularly through greater leaf area and biomass accumulation, whereas endemic taxa showed more restricted trait distributions. Multivariate analyses indicated that functional differentiation was concordant with SSR-based population structure. Because the functional traits were measured under field conditions and SSR markers represent neutral population-level variation, these results are interpreted as associative rather than as direct evidence of genetic control over trait expression. Overall, the study suggests that demographic connectivity, lineage-specific population structuring and field-expressed functional strategies jointly contribute to the contrasting ecological performance of invasive and endemic congeners in the Himalayan Mountain ecosystems.</p>

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Population-genetic structure and functional trait divergence differentiate invasive and endemic congeners in the Kashmir Himalaya

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月23日

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  • Rohied Ahmad Najar,
  • Aijaz Ahmad Wani,
  • Gousia Nabi,
  • Showkat Ahmad Zargar,
  • Irfan Rashid

摘要

Biological invasions provide unique insights into how ecological strategies and population genetic processes contribute to species success. However, decoupling the effects of functional trait divergence from population genetic structure remains challenging, particularly in biodiversity hotspots where invasive and endemic congeners coexist. This study evaluated the concordance between SSR-based population-genetic structure and field-expressed functional trait variation in invasive and endemic species of two distinct genera in the Kashmir Himalaya. We compared two invasive taxa (Ranunculus distans and Artemisia absinthium) with two narrowly endemic congeners (R. palmatifidus and A. amygdalina), combining population genetic analyses based on 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci (six per genus) with individual-level measurements of growth, leaf morphology, and biomass traits across natural populations. Invasive taxa generally maintained higher or more widely distributed genetic variation, but species-specific AMOVA showed that population structuring differed in a genus-specific manner rather than being uniformly lower in invasive congeners. In Artemisia, among-population variation was higher in the endemic A. amygdalina than in the invasive A. absinthium, whereas in Ranunculus, the invasive R. distans showed higher among-population variation than the endemic R. palmatifidus. Functional analyses revealed clear, trait-specific differentiation between invasive and endemic congeners. Invasive taxa generally occupied a more acquisitive region of trait space, particularly through greater leaf area and biomass accumulation, whereas endemic taxa showed more restricted trait distributions. Multivariate analyses indicated that functional differentiation was concordant with SSR-based population structure. Because the functional traits were measured under field conditions and SSR markers represent neutral population-level variation, these results are interpreted as associative rather than as direct evidence of genetic control over trait expression. Overall, the study suggests that demographic connectivity, lineage-specific population structuring and field-expressed functional strategies jointly contribute to the contrasting ecological performance of invasive and endemic congeners in the Himalayan Mountain ecosystems.