Are there key innovations during invasion? A comparison between native and invasive slug species pairs based on metabolomics, bioassays and genetics

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Species invading new habitats potentially change genotypically and phenotypically during the invasion process, which often leads to enhanced competition in comparison with native species. Molecular analyses combined with chemical ecology are powerful tools to characterize population differences between native and invasive species pairs and to identify characteristics that may enhance the invasion success. This study will focus on the population differentiation of two slug species pairs, the in Germany invasive slug Arion lusitanicus in comparison to the native A. rufus and two Deroceras species. The aims are (I) to clarify the population structure of A. lusitanicus along its invasion pathway, (II) to investigate whether different selection pressures or hybridization with the native A. rufus have led to a differentiation within the invasive populations, (III) to investigate assortative mating as potential evolutionary force using the most differentiated A. lusitanicus populations and analysing species recognition behaviour with trail following and mate choice experiments, and (IV) to screen for key compounds that are responsible for species recognition using two Deroceras species as additional model organisms. It is expected that invasive slug species differ genetically as well as in the metabolomic composition of the mucus compared to the non-invasive conspecifics, and we expect rapid evolutionary changes that have increased the invasion potential of the slugs.