Supercolonial structure in the invasive population of the tawny crazy ant Nylanderia fulva

VARGO, E.; MC DOWELL, B.; EYER, P.-A.; JOHNSON, L.; CALCATERRA, L. A.; SHOEMAKER, D. D.

Portland, Oregon, EE.UU

Encuentro; ESA Annual Meeting 2017; 2017

ESA

The tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva, is an invasive ant rapidly spreading through the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. It forms very dense populations that have significant ecological and economic impacts. Genetic data from microsatellite markers and behavioral data from aggression tests indicate that these dense populations consist of supercolonies. Moreover, supercolonies across the U.S. are genetically very similar suggesting they may have arisen through a single introduction. Comparative data on the genetic diversity and colony breeding structure in native and introduced populations will also be presented.