Members of the ant genus, Formica

For this project, we observed task allocation behavior among workers from 51 Formica ant colonies. We extracted DNA from one individual per observed colony, constructed a restriction-site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) library, and we aligned sequences to an F. selysi reference genome. We constructed a neighbor-joining tree to identify each species, based on prior genetic data and species identification data that we had available within our lab group. We identified 10 species in total: F. obscuriventris, F. aserva, F. dakotensis, F. podzolica, F. glacialis, F. neoclara, F. ulkei, F. neorufibarbis, and two unknown species in the Formica rufa group.