Consistent signatures of urban adaptation in a native, urban invader ant Tapinoma sessile
- PMID: 34551170
- DOI: 10.1111/mec.16188
Consistent signatures of urban adaptation in a native, urban invader ant Tapinoma sessile
Abstract
Biological invasions are becoming more prevalent due to the rise of global trade and expansion of urban areas. Ants are among the most prolific invaders with many exhibiting a multiqueen colony structure, dependent colony foundation and reduced internest aggression. Although these characteristics are generally associated with the invasions of exotic ants, they may also facilitate the spread of native ants into novel habitats. Native to diverse habitats across North America, the odorous house ant Tapinoma sessile has become abundant in urban environments throughout the United States. Natural colonies typically have a small workforce, inhabit a single nest, and are headed by a single queen, whereas urban colonies tend to be several orders of magnitude larger, inhabit multiple nests (i.e., polydomy) and are headed by multiple queens (i.e., polygyny). Here, we explore and compare the population genetic and breeding structure of T. sessile within and between urban and natural environments in several localities across its distribution range. We found the social structure of a colony to be a plastic trait in both habitats, although extreme polygyny was confined to urban habitats. Additionally, polydomous colonies were only present in urban habitats, suggesting T. sessile can only achieve supercoloniality within urbanized areas. Finally, we identified strong differentiation between urban and natural populations in each locality and continent-wide, indicating cities may restrict gene flow and exert intense selection pressure. Overall, our study highlights urbanization's influence in charting the evolutionary course for species.
Keywords: ants; phylogeography; population genetics; urban adaptation.
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Comment in
-
High levels of inbreeding with spatial and host-associated structure in lice of an endangered freshwater seal.Mol Ecol. 2022 Sep;31(18):4593-4606. doi: 10.1111/mec.16569. Epub 2022 Jul 1. Mol Ecol. 2022. PMID: 35726520 Free PMC article.
References
REFERENCES
-
- Abbott, K. L. (2005). Supercolonies of the invasive yellow crazy ant, Anoplolepis gracilipes, on an oceanic island: Forager activity patterns, density and biomass. Insectes Sociaux, 52(3), 266-273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-005-0800-6
-
- Alberti, M. (2015). Eco-evolutionary dynamics in an urbanizing planet. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 30(2), 114-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2014.11.007
-
- Alberti, M., Correa, C., Marzluff, J. M., Hendry, A. P., Palkovacs, E. P., Gotanda, K. M., Hunt, V. M., Apgar, T. M., & Zhou, Y. (2017). Global urban signatures of phenotypic change in animal and plant populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(34), 8951. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1606034114
-
- Arnfield, A. J. (2003). Two decades of urban climate research: A review of turbulence, exchanges of energy and water, and the urban heat island. International Journal of Climatology, 23(1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.859
-
- Banks, N. C., Paini, D. R., Bayliss, K. L., & Hodda, M. (2015). The role of global trade and transport network topology in the human-mediated dispersal of alien species. Ecology Letters, 18(2), 188-199. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12397.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources