Population genetic studies are efficient for inferring the invasion history based on a comparison of native and invasive populations, especially when conducted at species scale. An expected outcome in invasive populations is variability loss, and this is especially true in self‐fertilizing species. We here focus on the self‐fertilizing Pseudosuccinea columella , an invasive hermaphroditic freshwater snail that has greatly expa...

An increasing number of studies are simultaneously investigating species diversity ( SD ) and genetic diversity ( GD ) in the same systems, looking for ‘species– genetic diversity correlations’ ( SGDC s). From negative to positive SGDC s have been reported, but studies have generally not quantified the processes underlying these correlations. They were also mostly conducted at large biogeographical scales or in recently degrad...

The metapopulation concept is a cornerstone in the recent history of ecology and evolution. However, determining whether a natural system fits a metapopulation model is a complex issue. Extinction‐colonization dynamics are indeed often difficult to quantify because species detectability is not always 100%, resulting in an imperfect record of extinctions. Here, we explore whether combining population genetics with demographic a...

The parthenogenetic snail Melanoides tuberculata , present in tropical fresh waters of most of the Old World before 1950, has now invaded the Neotropical area. The phylogeography of this snail was studied to evaluate the pathways and number of such invasions. Because of parthenogenetic reproduction, individuals are structured into genetical clones. Within populations from both the original and invaded areas, several morphologi...

The historical phylogeography of the two most important intermediate host species of the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni , B. glabrata in the New World, and B. pfeifferi in the Old World, was investigated using partial 16S and ND1 sequences from the mitochondrial genome. Nuclear sequences of an actin intron and internal transcribed spacer (ITS)‐1 were also obtained, but they were uninformative for the relationships among...

Biomphalaria glabrata is the main intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni in America and one of the most intensely studied species of freshwater snails, yet very little is known about its population biology. Here, we used seven highly polymorphic microsatellite loci to analyse genetic diversity in the Valencia lake basin, which represents the core of the endemic area for schistosomiasis in Venezuela. Populations were sampled...

Fasciolosis is a re‐emerging parasitic disease that affects an increasing number of people in developing countries. The most severe endemic affects the Bolivian Altiplano, where the liver fluke ( Fasciola hepatica ) and its hermaphroditic snail host, Lymnaea truncatula, have been introduced from Europe. To achieve a better understanding of the epidemiological situation and the consequences of the colonization event of this inv...

The distribution of variability was studied at various geographical scales in the tropical freshwater snail Melanoides tuberculata , in order to analyse the role of factors shaping this distribution, including the mating system and population dynamics. This parthenogenetic polyploid species reproduces mainly asexually, with males occurring at low frequency. About 800 individuals (38 sites) were sampled from Africa and the Midd...

Characterization of microsatellites in the parthenogenetic polyploid snail Melanoides tuberculata revealed an unusual high density of dinucleotide repeats. Multiple banding patterns were obtained at these loci, and interpreted as a consequence of polyploidy. Microsatellite variability was low within, but high between, shell morphotypes. Genotypes were wholly transmitted from mothers to offspring. These results suggest that rep...