The evolution of invasiveness in garden ants
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The evolution of invasiveness in garden ants. / Cremer, Sylvia; Ugelvig, Line Vej; Drijfhout, Falko P; Schlick-Steiner, Birgit C; Steiner, Florian M; Seifert, Bernhard; Hughes, David Peter; Schulz, Andreas; Petersen, Klaus S; Konrad, Heino; Stauffer, Christian; Kiran, Kadri; Espadaler, Xavier; d'Ettorre, Patrizia; Aktaç, Nihat; Eilenberg, Jørgen; Jones, Graeme R; Nash, David Richard; Pedersen, Jes Søe; Boomsma, Jacobus Jan.
In: PLoS ONE, Vol. 3, No. 12, 2008.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The evolution of invasiveness in garden ants
AU - Cremer, Sylvia
AU - Ugelvig, Line Vej
AU - Drijfhout, Falko P
AU - Schlick-Steiner, Birgit C
AU - Steiner, Florian M
AU - Seifert, Bernhard
AU - Hughes, David Peter
AU - Schulz, Andreas
AU - Petersen, Klaus S
AU - Konrad, Heino
AU - Stauffer, Christian
AU - Kiran, Kadri
AU - Espadaler, Xavier
AU - d'Ettorre, Patrizia
AU - Aktaç, Nihat
AU - Eilenberg, Jørgen
AU - Jones, Graeme R
AU - Nash, David Richard
AU - Pedersen, Jes Søe
AU - Boomsma, Jacobus Jan
N1 - Paper id:: e3838
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - It is unclear why some species become successful invaders whilst others fail, and whether invasive success depends on pre-adaptations already present in the native range or on characters evolving de-novo after introduction. Ants are among the worst invasive pests, with Lasius neglectus and its rapid spread through Europe and Asia as the most recent example of a pest ant that may become a global problem. Here, we present the first integrated study on behavior, morphology, population genetics, chemical recognition and parasite load of L. neglectus and its non-invasive sister species L. turcicus. We find that L. neglectus expresses the same supercolonial syndrome as other invasive ants, a social system that is characterized by mating without dispersal and large networks of cooperating nests rather than smaller mutually hostile colonies. We conclude that the invasive success of L. neglectus relies on a combination of parasite-release following introduction and pre-adaptations in mating system, body-size, queen number and recognition efficiency that evolved long before introduction. Our results challenge the notion that supercolonial organization is an inevitable consequence of low genetic variation for chemical recognition cues in small invasive founder populations. We infer that low variation and limited volatility in cuticular hydrocarbon profiles already existed in the native range in combination with low dispersal and a highly viscous population structure. Human transport to relatively disturbed urban areas thus became the decisive factor to induce parasite release, a well established general promoter of invasiveness in non-social animals and plants, but understudied in invasive social insects.
AB - It is unclear why some species become successful invaders whilst others fail, and whether invasive success depends on pre-adaptations already present in the native range or on characters evolving de-novo after introduction. Ants are among the worst invasive pests, with Lasius neglectus and its rapid spread through Europe and Asia as the most recent example of a pest ant that may become a global problem. Here, we present the first integrated study on behavior, morphology, population genetics, chemical recognition and parasite load of L. neglectus and its non-invasive sister species L. turcicus. We find that L. neglectus expresses the same supercolonial syndrome as other invasive ants, a social system that is characterized by mating without dispersal and large networks of cooperating nests rather than smaller mutually hostile colonies. We conclude that the invasive success of L. neglectus relies on a combination of parasite-release following introduction and pre-adaptations in mating system, body-size, queen number and recognition efficiency that evolved long before introduction. Our results challenge the notion that supercolonial organization is an inevitable consequence of low genetic variation for chemical recognition cues in small invasive founder populations. We infer that low variation and limited volatility in cuticular hydrocarbon profiles already existed in the native range in combination with low dispersal and a highly viscous population structure. Human transport to relatively disturbed urban areas thus became the decisive factor to induce parasite release, a well established general promoter of invasiveness in non-social animals and plants, but understudied in invasive social insects.
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0003838
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0003838
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 19050762
VL - 3
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
SN - 1932-6203
IS - 12
ER -
ID: 9487895