Uncovering cryptic species diversity of a termite community in a West African savanna

Hausberger, Barbara; Kimpel, Dorothea; Neer, Abbo van; Korb, Judith

doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.08.015

Cited by 39 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In African savannahs, almost all species are wood-litter feeders [7]. Ecological analyses allow a further differentiation of specialist grass-feeders (Trinervitermes) and fungus-growing termites (Macrotermitinae) [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A phylogenetic community approach for studying termite communities in a West African savannah

Hausberger

Korb

2015

Biol. Lett.

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Termites play fundamental roles in tropical ecosystems, and mound-building species in particular are crucial in enhancing species diversity, from plants to mammals. However, it is still unclear which factors govern the occurrence and assembly of termite communities. A phylogenetic community approach and null models of species assembly were used to examine structuring processes associated with termite community assembly in a pristine savannah. Overall, we did not find evidence for a strong influence of interspecific competition or environmental filtering in structuring these communities. However, the presence of a single species, the mound-building termite Macrotermes bellicosus, left a strong signal on structuring and led to clustered communities of more closely related species. Hence, this species changes the assembly rules for a whole community. Our results show the fundamental importance of a single insect species for community processes, suggesting that more attention to insect species is warranted when developing conservation strategies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A phylogenetic community approach for studying termite communities in a West African savannah

Hausberger

Korb

2015

Biol. Lett.

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“…In addition, eleven other Cryptotermes species and Blatta orientalis were used for comparison (Table 1). Fragments of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit II ( COII ; total length ~740 bp), 12S rRNA (~385 bp) and 16S rRNA (total length ~480bp) were used and sequenced as described in Hausberger et al (2011). DNA sequences were aligned with MEGA 6.0.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…material 1), hence we could not include comparative analysis for nuclear and mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA genes. Note, COII is very informative to identify termite species (Hausberger et al 2011). …”

Section: Systematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mitochondrial markers have been extensively used in termites, e.g. Miura et al 2000, Lo et al 2004, Ohkuma et al 2004, Bergamaschi et al 2007, Li et al 2009, Singla et al 2013, Hausberger et al 2011, Scheffrahn et al 2015. In termites, sequencing fragments of the (COII)cytochrome oxidase subunit II proved to be an especially suitable marker (e.g., Legendre et al 2008, Hausberger et al 2011): (COI)Cytochrome oxidase subunit I , the standard ‘tree of life gene’, is less suitable as it does not amplify well in termites and have too low resolution to distinguish species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cryptotermes colombianus a new drywood termite and distribution record of Cryptotermes in Colombia

Casalla

Scheffrahn

Korb

2016

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A new species of drywood termite (Kalotermitidae), Cryptotermes colombianus, is described and new records for Cryptotermes cylindroceps and Cryptotermes mangoldi are presented from the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Cryptotermes colombianus is described from two soldiers and genetic sequences. This unusual species differs noticeably from other regional Cryptotermes species for its weak and inconspicuous definition of the frontal and genal horns and its acute angle of the frons with respect to the vertex. Cryptotermes colombianus clustered with species from the Ethiopian and Oriental region and it is closely related to Cryptotermes havilandi. Cryptotermes cylindroceps is widely distributed along the Colombian Caribbean coast, commonly associated with dead wood in mangrove habitats. It also is commonly found in wooden furniture, constituting an important household pest. Cryptotermes mangoldi is reported from the Caribbean mainland for the first time.With these new records, there are now five Cryptotermes species for Colombia, including the pest species Cryptotermes brevis and Cryptotermes dudleyi. This new description raises the numbers of Neotropical Cryptotermes to a total of 34 species, of which 2 are fossils, 4 introduced, and 28 endemic.

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“…comparisons at the genus or family level or higher) due to coamplification of pseudogenes, introgression events, incomplete lineage sorting, and linkage disequilibrium when endosymbionts are present (Funk and Omland 2003, Hurst and Jiggins 2005, Song et al 2008). The cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene, a proposed universal barcode for species identification (Hebert et al 2003) that has been useful for many insects (Cameron 2014), is not widely used for termites because of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification problems and suspected pseudogenes (Hausberger et al 2011, Roy et al 2014). We found similar problems when using COI for Puerto Rican Heterotermes (T.D.E.…”

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Species Diversity of Puerto Rican Heterotermes (Dictyoptera: Rhinotermitidae) Revealed by Phylogenetic Analyses of Two Mitochondrial Genes

Eaton

Jones

Jenkins

2016

Journal of Insect Science

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The goal of this study was to infer Heterotermes (Froggatt) (Dictyoptera: Rhinotermitidae) species diversity on the island of Puerto Rico from phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data from two mitochondrial genes, 16S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase II (COII). This termite genus is a structural pest known to be well adapted to arid environments in subtropical and tropical regions worldwide including Puerto Rico and many other Caribbean islands. Extensive sampling was accomplished across Puerto Rico, and phylogenetic analyses of individual gene sequences from these samples indicated robust datasets of congruent gene tree topologies showing three monophyletic groups: H. cardini (Snyder), H. convexinotatus (Snyder), and H. tenuis (Hagen). We found that H. cardini and H. convexinotatus were widespread in the arid coastal regions of Puerto Rico, whereas H. tenuis was uncommon and may represent a relatively new introduction. We found only H. convexinotatus on Culebra Island. We provide strong evidence that Puerto Rico may be linked to the Heterotermes in southern Florida, USA, since its GenBank 16S sequence was identical to that of seven Puerto Rican H. cardini sequences. Our study represents the first records of H. cardini from Puerto Rico and Grand Bahama.

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Uncovering cryptic species diversity of a termite community in a West African savanna

Cited by 39 publications

References 24 publications

A phylogenetic community approach for studying termite communities in a West African savannah

A phylogenetic community approach for studying termite communities in a West African savannah

Cryptotermes colombianus a new drywood termite and distribution record of Cryptotermes in Colombia

Species Diversity of Puerto Rican Heterotermes (Dictyoptera: Rhinotermitidae) Revealed by Phylogenetic Analyses of Two Mitochondrial Genes

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