Globally invasive populations of the clonal raider ant are derived from Bangladesh

Abstract

Identifying the native range of invasive species is useful to understand their evolution and natural history, as well as to develop new methods to control potentially harmful introduced organisms. The clonal raider ant, Ooceraea biroi , is an introduced species and an increasingly important social insect model organism, but its native range remains unknown. Here, we report a new series of O. biroi collections from Bangladesh, Singapore, Vietnam and China. We use a molecular phylogeny constructed with five gene fragments from 27 samples to determine that invasive lineages of O. biroi originated in Bangladesh. These lineages may have spread from Bangladesh via the historically significant Bay of Bengal shipping ports. Ooceraea biroi shares multiple features of its biology with other introduced ants, including parthenogenesis, retention of heterozygosity and presence of multiple egg-layers in the colony. Using laboratory rearing and microsatellite markers, we show that colonies collected from disturbed habitat in Bangladesh have these traits in common with colonies from the invasive range. Ancestral populations with sexual reproduction in primary habitats either remain to be discovered or have gone extinct. Our findings advance our understanding of the global spread of the clonal raider ant and highlight a suite of general traits that make certain ants prone to becoming invasive.

Response thresholds alone cannot explain empirical patterns of division of labor in social insects

“…This means that colony-level task demand can be standardized or manipulated across colonies by controlling larvae number or, potentially, genotype. Finally, while colonies collected in the field contain between approximately a dozen and several hundred workers [55][56][57], smaller colonies of approximately 10 workers have high fitness and show complex collective behavior (e.g., group raiding [58], stable DOL, and phasic reproduction [27]) in the laboratory. Taking advantage of these features, we quantify individual and collective behavior of O. biroi in response to precise, independent manipulations of colony genetic, morphological, and demographic composition, as is uniquely possible in this system.…”

Development and Characterization of Novel Polymorphic Microsatellite Markers for Tapinoma indicum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

“…The highly polymorphic characteristic of microsatellite markers makes them a useful genetic marker. They are widely used in various applications, including genetic diversity studies, phylogeographic studies, and population genetic structure and phylogenetic analysis to provide detailed information that stands as a baseline to study on the social structure of the pest ( Goropashnaya et al 2007 , Hick and Marshall 2018 , Trible et al 2020 ). These species-specific markers also can be used to determine the origin and dispersal routes of insect pest which contribute to a more efficient insect pest management.…”

Comprehensive analysis of male-free reproduction in Monomorium triviale (Formicidae: Myrmicinae)

“…Thelytokous parthenogenesis is often considered as a trait overrepresented among introduced or invasive ant species [ 50 ]. Although some studies have categorized M .…”

“…Thelytokous parthenogenesis is often considered as a trait overrepresented among introduced or invasive ant species [50]. Although some studies have categorized M. triviale as invasive [1,19], no exotic distribution has been reported so far [14] and there is insufficient information to support the possibility of an introduced origin of the Japanese population of M. triviale.…”