Dispersal and mating strategies in two neotropical soil-feeding termites, Embiratermes neotenicus and Silvestritermes minutus (Termitidae, Syntermitinae)

Autor: Jan Křivánek, Robert Hanus, Virginie Roy, Yves Roisin, David Sillam-Dussès, Klára Dolejšová, Romain Fougeyrollas
Přispěvatelé: Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7), Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University. Ismailia. Egypt, Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague] (CAS), Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris (iEES), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 (UPEC UP12)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Université Paris Nord (Paris 13), Evolutio nary Biology and Ecology, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Grant Agency of the Charles University in Prague 580413 358815 Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research FRS-FNRS FNRS-17-02 Czech Academy of Sciences FNRS-17-02 IOCB, Prague RVO 61388963 Doctoral School Science, Engineering and Environment (RF mobility Grant)
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: Insectes Sociaux
Insectes Sociaux, Springer Verlag, 2018, 65 (2), pp.251-262. ⟨10.1007/s00040-018-0606-y⟩
ISSN: 0020-1812
1420-9098
DOI: 10.1007/s00040-018-0606-y⟩
Popis: International audience; Colony breeding systems and dispersal strategies of eusocial insects shape the genetic structure at the colony, but also at the population level. Most of the few molecular studies dedicated to termites suggest that winged reproductives disperse far enough to secure the formation of outbred founding pairs. However, these studies almost exclusively focused on wood-feeding termites and knowledge about the dispersal potential of winged reproductives is missing for soil-feeding termites. We investigated the dispersal and mating strategies of Embiratermes neotenicus and Silvestritermes minutus (Termitidae, Syntermitinae), two very abundant soil-feeding species from the Neotropics. In both species, analysis of microsatellite markers indicated low genetic similarity between closely located colonies and low genetic differentiation between populations separated by less than 10 km. Each of the 39 E. neotenicus colonies originated from a single pair of primary reproductives and the mean inbreeding coefficient of sterile castes was only slightly different from that expected in offspring of an outbred pair. Most S. minutus colonies (34/41) were consistent with outbred biparental foundation. In three mature colonies, the genotypes of sterile castes suggested their origin by mixing of multiple related reproductives. Finally, four colonies in late stage of the colony life cycle contained sterile populations originating from multiple unrelated reproductives. We conclude that long-distance flights resulting in outbred reproduction are common in these soil-feeding species in pristine habitats but that other factors, such as mating preferences, could increase relatedness between founders.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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