Ambrosia artemisiifolia is an annual weed from North America that nowadays is invasive in many countries worldwide. In Austria, numerous populations of A. artemisiifolia are located along the Danube River, especially along the 'New Danube' (Vienna). This area is characterised by ruderal and riparian sites, which are regularly flooded. To better understand the spread of A. artemisiifolia and its colonising behaviour along the Danube River, we analysed genetic structure and diversity based on 23 populations linearly arranged along the Viennese Danube riverbed and upstream, utilising the Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprint method. We generated 284 polymorphic AFLP markers across 446 A. artemisiifolia plants. The genetic diversity within populations was higher (HW = 0.091) than among populations (HB = 0.007). This result indicates A. artemisiifolia introductions from similar mixtures of sources or spread from a single already mixed introduction. Within our local setting, we were unable to identify neither source or sink populations nor an obvious linear genetic structuring. Genetic among-population differentiation was low to moderate (AMOVA-derived F ST = 0.124). Lack of geographical structuring is indicative of highly dynamic gene flow, which is further supported by the absence of an isolation-by-distance pattern. Multiple introductions and non-directional gene flow are most likely promoted by anthropogenic disturbance and human-mediated dispersal. Our results demonstrate the ability and speed of A. artemisiifolia to settle in newly disturbed areas and the difficulties to predict invasion directions, as downstream river dispersal was negligible.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.