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Origins and genetic composition of the European fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Newfoundland, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2014

Barry J. Hicks ,
Brettney L. Pilgrim  and
H. Dawn Marshall
Barry J. Hicks*
Affiliation:
College of the North Atlantic, 4 Pike's Lane, Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada A1Y 1A7
Brettney L. Pilgrim
Affiliation:
Genomics and Proteomics Facility, CREAIT Network, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada A1C 5S7
H. Dawn Marshall
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada A1C 3X9
*
1Corresponding author (e-mail: barry.hicks@cna.nl.ca).
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Abstract

The European Fire Ant, Myrmica rubra (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is an invasive stinging ant that has only recently been recorded in Newfoundland, Canada. The goal of the present study was to investigate the origins of M. rubra ants in Newfoundland. We analysed mtDNA sequences from the cytochrome b and cytochrome c oxidase I genes of ants from six localities in Newfoundland, and neighbouring regions of eastern Canada and the United States of America, and compared them with mtDNA data from a recent wide-scale phylogeographical study of the ant throughout Europe. There is evidence for at least four distinct sources of ants on the island. The putative routes of colonisation of the ant to Newfoundland are discussed, as are the possible reasons why it went undiscovered for many decades.

Résumé

La fourmi de feu européenne, Myrmica rubra (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), est une fourmi piqueuse invasive qui n'a été que récemment enregistrée à Terre-Neuve, Canada. L'objectif de cette étude était d’étudier l'origine des fourmis M. rubra à Terre-Neuve. Nous avons analysé les séquences d'ADN mitochondrial à partir des gènes COI et Cyt b de fourmis de six localités à Terre-Neuve, et des régions voisines de l'Est du Canada et des États-Unis, et nous les avons comparées avec des données d'ADN mitochondrial provenant d'une récente étude phylogéographique à grande échelle de la fourmi dans toute l'Europe. Il existe des preuves pour au moins quatre sources distinctes de fourmis sur l’île. Les routes putatives de la colonisation de Terre-Neuve par la fourmi sont discutées, ainsi que les raisons possibles pour lesquelles elle est passée inaperçue pendant de nombreuses décennies.

Type
Biodiversity & Evolution
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 146 , Issue 4 , August 2014 , pp. 457 - 464
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2014 

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Footnotes

Subject editor: Patrice Bouchard

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