Genetic structure, nestmate recognition and behaviour of two cryptic species of the invasive big-headed ant Pheidole megacephala
| Autor: | Martin Kenne, Denis Fournier, Serge Aron, Eliane De Coninck, Maurice Tindo, Vanessa Van Bossche, Paul Serge Mbenoun Masse |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2012 |
| Předmět: |
Species complex
Génétique moléculaire Ecologie [animale] Population genetics lcsh:Medicine Introduced species Pheidole megacephala Megacephala Nesting Behavior Electron Transport Complex IV Species Specificity Animals Cluster Analysis DNA Barcoding Taxonomic Cameroon lcsh:Science Biology Phylogeny Genetic diversity Multidisciplinary biology Ecology Geography Ants Ethologie lcsh:R Animal Structures Genetic Variation Biologie moléculaire Bayes Theorem Recognition Psychology Population ecology biology.organism_classification Hydrocarbons Aggression Genetic structure Microscopy Electron Scanning lcsh:Q Introduced Species Zoology Research Article Microsatellite Repeats |
| Zdroj: | PloS one, 7 PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 2, p e31480 (2012) PLoS ONE |
| Popis: | Background Biological invasions are recognized as a major cause of biodiversity decline and have considerable impact on the economy and human health. The African big-headed ant Pheidole megacephala is considered one of the world's most harmful invasive species. Methodology/Principal Findings To better understand its ecological and demographic features, we combined behavioural (aggression tests), chemical (quantitative and qualitative analyses of cuticular lipids) and genetic (mitochondrial divergence and polymorphism of DNA microsatellite markers) data obtained for eight populations in Cameroon. Molecular data revealed two cryptic species of P. megacephala, one inhabiting urban areas and the other rainforests. Urban populations belong to the same phylogenetic group than those introduced in Australia and in other parts of the world. Behavioural analyses show that the eight populations sampled make up four mutually aggressive supercolonies. The maximum distance between nests from the same supercolony was 49 km and the closest distance between two nests belonging to two different supercolonies was 46 m. The genetic data and chemical analyses confirmed the behavioural tests as all of the nests were correctly assigned to their supercolony. Genetic diversity appears significantly greater in Africa than in introduced populations in Australia; by contrast, urban and Australian populations are characterized by a higher chemical diversity than rainforest ones. Conclusions/Significance Overall, our study shows that populations of P. megacephala in Cameroon adopt a unicolonial social structure, like invasive populations in Australia. However, the size of the supercolonies appears several orders of magnitude smaller in Africa. This implies competition between African supercolonies and explains why they persist over evolutionary time scales. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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