Data from: Bayesian inference of a complex invasion history revealed by nuclear and chloroplast genetic diversity in the colonizing plant, Silene latifolia

Species invading new ranges are subject to a series of demographic events that can strongly shape genetic diversity. Describing this demographic history is important for understanding where invasive species come from and how they spread, and is critical to testing hypotheses of post-invasion adaptation. Here, we analyze nuclear and chloroplast genetic diversity to study the invasion history of the widespread colonizing weed, Silene latifolia (Caryophyllaceae). Bayesian clustering and PCA revealed strong population structure in the native range of Europe and although genotypes from multiple native sources were present in the introduced range of North America, the spatial distribution of genetic variance was dramatically reorganized. Using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC), we compared support for different invasion scenarios, including the number and size of independent introduction events and the amount of admixture occurring between sources of introduced genotypes. Our results supported independent introductions into eastern and western North America, with the latter forming a bridgehead for a secondary invasion into the Great Lakes region of central North America. Despite small estimated founder population sizes, the duration of the demographic bottleneck after the initial introduction appeared extremely short-lived. This pattern of repeated colonization and rapid expansion has effectively eroded the strong population structure and cyto-nuclear associations present in Europe, but has retained overall high genetic diversity since invasion. Our results highlight the flexibility of the ABC approach for constructing a narrative of the demographic history of species invasions, and provide baseline for future studies of evolutionary changes in introduced S. latifolia populations.Kelleretal2012MEC_genotypesGenotypic data from 16 nuclear microsatellites and 1 chloroplast indel marker.Kelleretal2012_MEC_genotypes.xlsxDIYABC_5POPData input file for DIYABC demographic modeling.Keller_etal_MolEcol_2012_DIYABCReference table for DIYABC demographic modeling.Keller_etal_2012_MEC_samplinglocationsGeographic regions and continent of origin associated with each genetic sample. These geographic regions form the basis of the hierarchical tests of genetic structure and the ABC model comparisons