Discussion
One highly successful invasive species occupying three different continents provides a complex evolutionary system and a unique window into molecular evolution and adaptation. This study provides intruiging preliminary data to continue to explore invasion genetics from a global population perspective. Overall our findings support that low nucleotide diversity, and small founder populations are not obstacles for rapid expansion and establishment in new environments (Rollins et al. 2013). We also find that none of the invasive populations share any haplotypes with each other, which suggests novel haplotypes may have evolved in these three regions since their introduction. This finding also highlights the need for a more comprehensive characterization of the population genetics of the native range for European starlings.