{"title":"Genetic Diversity in Pioneer Ants: The Cardiocondyla shuckardi Group","authors":"Jürgen Heinze, Peter G. Hawkes","doi":"10.13102/sociobiology.v70i3.10098","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The myrmicine ant genus Cardiocondyla consists of around 80 species of small, inconspicuous ants, which live mainly in subtropical and tropical Africa, Eurasia, and Australia. Several species have been accidentally introduced to America and have also invaded numerous originally ant-free islands around the world. The diversity of life histories in this genus, with lethally fighting wingless males, dominance hierarchies among queens, and considerable variation in the sociogenetic organization of colonies across species, has made it an interesting model to investigate the evolution and behavioral ecology of reproductive strategies. Taxa of the African Cardiocondyla shuckardi group are of particular interest, as in a phylogeny they lie between facultatively polygynous species with fatal male competition and monogynous species with mutually tolerant males. Studies on male behavior and sociogenetics in C. “venustula,” a widespread member of the C. shuckardi group, showed that males defend small territories inside their subterraneous nests. At the same time, they revealed a surprisingly large variability in mtDNA haplotypes both within and between populations in South Africa, Angola, and Côte d’Ivoire. As the different lineages are very similar in morphology and nuclear markers, more research is needed to clarify the very confused taxonomic situation in this fascinating group of ants.","PeriodicalId":21971,"journal":{"name":"Sociobiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Sociobiology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v70i3.10098","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"ENTOMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The myrmicine ant genus Cardiocondyla consists of around 80 species of small, inconspicuous ants, which live mainly in subtropical and tropical Africa, Eurasia, and Australia. Several species have been accidentally introduced to America and have also invaded numerous originally ant-free islands around the world. The diversity of life histories in this genus, with lethally fighting wingless males, dominance hierarchies among queens, and considerable variation in the sociogenetic organization of colonies across species, has made it an interesting model to investigate the evolution and behavioral ecology of reproductive strategies. Taxa of the African Cardiocondyla shuckardi group are of particular interest, as in a phylogeny they lie between facultatively polygynous species with fatal male competition and monogynous species with mutually tolerant males. Studies on male behavior and sociogenetics in C. “venustula,” a widespread member of the C. shuckardi group, showed that males defend small territories inside their subterraneous nests. At the same time, they revealed a surprisingly large variability in mtDNA haplotypes both within and between populations in South Africa, Angola, and Côte d’Ivoire. As the different lineages are very similar in morphology and nuclear markers, more research is needed to clarify the very confused taxonomic situation in this fascinating group of ants.
期刊介绍:
SOCIOBIOLOGY publishes high quality articles that significantly contribute to the knowledge of Entomology, with emphasis on social insects. Articles previously submitted to other journals are not accepted. SOCIOBIOLOGY publishes original research papers and invited review articles on all aspects related to the biology, evolution and systematics of social and pre-social insects (Ants, Termites, Bees and Wasps). The journal is currently expanding its scope to incorporate the publication of articles dealing with other arthropods that exhibit sociality. Articles may cover a range of subjects such as ecology, ethology, morphology, population genetics, physiology, toxicology, reproduction, sociobiology, caste differentiation as well as economic impact and pest management.