DOI: 10.5061/dryad.xsj3tx9m7
title: Tracing the introduction of the invasive common myna using population genomics

description: The common myna (Acridotheres tristis) is one of the most invasive bird
 species in the world, yet its colonisation history is only partly
 understood. We identified the introduction history and population
 structure, and quantified the genetic diversity of myna populations from
 the native range in India and the introduced populations in New Zealand,
 Australia, Fiji, Hawaii, and South Africa, based on thousands of single
 nucleotide polymorphism markers in 814 individuals. We were able to
 identify the source population of mynas in several invasive locations:
 mynas from Fiji and Melbourne, Australia, were likely founded by
 individuals from a subpopulation in Maharashtra, India, while mynas in
 Hawaii and South Africa were likely independently founded by individuals
 from other localities in India. Our findings suggest that New Zealand
 mynas were founded by individuals from Melbourne, which, in turn, were
 founded by individuals from Maharashtra. We identified two genetic
 clusters among New Zealand mynas, divided by New Zealand’s North Island’s
 axial mountain ranges, confirming previous observations that mountains and
 thick forests may form barriers to myna dispersal. Our study provides a
 foundation for other population and invasion genomic studies and provides
 useful information for the management of this invasive species.
description: A total of 183 myna tissue samples in ethanol from India, New
 Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Hawaii and Fiji between 1975–1989 were
 received from the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). A further 193 euthanized
 mynas were obtained from myna control programs from contributors in New
 Zealand between 2017–2020, and muscle tissue was subsampled from each
 individual. DNA was extracted from the ROM tissue samples using the DNeasy
 Blood & Tissue Kit (Qiagen) following the manufacturer's
 protocols. DNA was extracted from the New Zealand tissue samples using the
 Monarch Genomic DNA Purification Kit (NEB) following the
 manufacturer's protocols. DNA concentration was measured using a
 Qubit 2.0 Fluorometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific). DNA was diluted to
 standardized concentrations of 50–100 ng/μL, and sent to Diversity Arrays
 Technology Pty Ltd company (DArT P/L) for further processing. Samples from
 363 individuals were successfully sequenced, including 13 duplicate
 samples, using the proprietary Diversity Arrays Technology platform and
 protocol (DArTseq). We included 13 duplicate samples. DArTseq also
 includes internal replicates of samples as part of its protocol.
 <br><br>This dataset consists of raw reads generated from this
 study (363 individuals, 13 replicates, and 64 DArT internal replicates,
 totaling 440 files). The raw reads generated from this study were
 processed and co-analysed with the DArTseq data from 451 mynas from
 Australia from the Ewart et al. (2019) study (mynas sampled in 2014–2015).
 <br><br>Files containing variants called using the BCFtools,
 STACKS, and DArTsoft14 pipelines can also be found here (See README.md and
 article supplementary information Appendix S2 for more details).
description: All scripts used in data
 processing and analysis are available on GitHub (https://github.com/akamolphat/myna_popgen).