Université de Montréal
M.Sc. candidate
Supervisor: Jacques Brodeur
Julie Turgeon
Start: 2012-01-01
End: 2014-08-31

Project

Routes of invasion of the lily leaf beetle, Lilioceris lilii (Scopoli), in North America
The lily leaf beetle, Lilioceris lilii (Coleoptera : Chrysomelidae), a Eurasian pest of lilies and fritillaries, was first observed in North America in 1943 on the Island of Montréal, Canada. After being confined to Montréal for approximately 25 years, the beetle quickly progressed in North America, and is currently present in eight Canadian provinces and eight American states. During this study, we have investigated the routes of invasion followed by L. lilii in North America, using AFLP markers. We sampled and analysed 516 individuals from 34 sites across North America and Europe. Our first objective was to characterize the genetic structure of North American L. lilii populations to determine if they originated from a single or form multiple introductions from Europe. The second objective was to identify the geographical origin of the invasive population(s). Finally, the third objective was to trace back the geographical routes of invasion of L. lilii in North America, using information from both the dates of first observations and the genetic structure of sampled populations. Our results showed clear genetic difference between individuals from Canada and the USA, suggesting at least two different sources of introductions of L. lilii in North America. A first episode of introduction took place in Montréal, Canada in the 1940’s while a second introduction occurred in Cambridge, Massachusetts, around 1990. Also, both North American populations seem to originate from different populations in northern Europe, which support the hypothesis of two distinct sources of introduction. Each population next progressed in its respective country following a stratified dispersal. Indeed, continuous progression of the beetle in some regions of North America suggests a pattern of natural dispersion, while human-mediated carrying of infected lilies seemed to be responsible for the long-range movement of the beetle.