Data from: Relationships between invasion success and colony breeding structure in a subterranean termite

Factors promoting the establishment and colonization success of introduced populations in new environments constitute an important issue in biological invasions. In this context, the respective role of pre-disposition and evolutionary changes during the invasion process is a key question that requires particular attention. The present study compared the colony breeding structure (i.e., number and relatedness among reproductives within colonies) in native and introduced populations of the subterranean pest termite, Reticulitermes flavipes. We generated and analyzed a dataset of both microsatellite and mtDNA loci on termite samples collected in three introduced populations, one in France (forest of Olonne-sur-mer) and two in Chile (regions of Valparaiso and Santiago), and in the putative source population of French infestations that has recently been identified in New Orleans, LA. We also provided a synthesis combining our results with previous ones in order to obtain a global picture of the variation in colony breeding structure in this species. We found that all introduced populations exhibit a particular colony breeding structure that is characterized by hundreds of inbreeding reproductives (neotenics) and by a propensity of colonies to fuse. These characteristics are comparable to those of many invasive ants and are discussed to play an important role in the establishment and colonization success during the invasion process. Compared to all of the other native US populations, the population of New Orleans is the only one exhibiting the same breeding structure as its related introduced populations, suggesting that it might be predisposed to establish and invade new ranges.