Breeding systems and genetic diversity in tropical carpenter ant colonies: different strategies for similar outcomes in Brazilian Cerrado savanna

Author(s)

Azevedo-Silva, Marianne ^[1] ; Mori, Gustavo M. ^[2] ; Carvalho, Carolina S. ^[3] ; Cortes, Marina C. ^[4] ; Souza, Anete P. ^[5] ; Oliveira, Paulo S. ^[6]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Programa Posgrad Ecol, BR-13083862 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Biociencias, BR-11380972 Sao Vicente, SP - Brazil

^[3] Inst Tecnol Vale, BR-66055090 Belem, Para - Brazil

^[4] Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Biodiversidade, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Estadual Campinas, Ctr Biol Mol & Engn Genet, Dept Biol Vegetal, BR-13083862 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[6] Univ Estadual Campinas, Dept Biol Anim, BR-13083862 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY; v. 190, n. 3, p. 1020-1035, NOV 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Eusocial insects tend to present low genetic diversity (GD) within colonies, which can increase with the co-occurrence of multiple queens (polygyny) or with multiple mating by a single queen (polyandry). Therefore, it is important to elucidate how these strategies influence GD, which in turn mediate population ecology and how organisms respond to their environment. We studied two carpenter ant species from the Brazilian savanna, Camponotus renggeri and C. rufipes. Using microsatellites, we evaluated the number of breeders, the genetic relatedness and the contribution of polygyny and polyandry to GD within colonies. Both species exhibited facultative polygyny. In C. renggeri, low related queens formed colonies jointly and present low mating frequency. In this species, colony GD increased with the number of queens. Contrastingly, closely related queens of C. rufipes formed polygynous colonies, exhibiting high mating frequency. In C. rufipes, both queens and males contributed to colony GD. Despite the differences, the two species have similar GD at the colony scale. Under low mating frequency, our data support that polygyny has evolutionary importance for increasing GD in ant colonies, a mechanism mainly conferred to polyandry. Although the impact of GD in variable ecological and adaptive contexts remains uncertain, this study highlights how distinct reproductive strategies may generate similar patterns of GD in ants. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/23141-1 - Ecology of interactions, behavioral ecology, and genetics of neotropical ant populations
• Grantee: Paulo Sergio Moreira Carvalho de Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/16645-1 - Molecular ecology of neotropical ants
• Grantee: Paulo Sergio Moreira Carvalho de Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/22821-9 - Population and functional genomics on the evolutionary study of neotropical Rhizophora species in face of historical and current climate changes
• Grantee: Gustavo Maruyama Mori
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 13/08086-1 - Population and functional genomics and an ecophysiological approach on the evolutionary study of neotropical mangrove species in face of historical and current climate changes
• Grantee: Gustavo Maruyama Mori
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 17/18291-2 - Biodiversity and molecular ecology of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) along a latitudinal gradient in the Cerrado
• Grantee: Marianne Azevedo Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 14/01029-5 - Ecological and genetics effects of seed size variation in a defaunated landscape
• Grantee: Carolina da Silva Carvalho
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate