Propagule pressure and colony social organization are associated with the successful invasion and rapid range expansion of fire ants in China

We characterized patterns of genetic variation in populations of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta in China using mitochondrial DNA sequences and nuclear microsatellite loci to test predictions as to how propagule pressure and subsequent dispersal following establishment jointly shape the invasion success of this ant in this recently invaded area. Fire ants in Wuchuan (Guangdong province) are genetically differentiated from those found in other large infested areas of China. The immediate source of ants in Wuchuan appears to be somewhere near Texas, which ranks first among states in the southern USA infested states in the exportation of goods to China. Most colonies from spatially distant, outlying areas in China are genetically similar to one another and appear to share a common source (Wuchuan, Guangdong province), suggesting that long-distance jump dispersal has been a prevalent means of recent spread of fire ants in China. Furthermore, most colonies at outlier sites are of the polygyn...

本研究采用线粒体DNA序列与核微卫星位点，对中国境内红火蚁（Solenopsis invicta）种群的遗传变异模式进行解析，旨在验证繁殖体压力与定殖后的扩散如何共同塑造该蚁类在新近入侵区域的入侵成功性这一假说。广东省吴川市的红火蚁种群，与中国其他主要入侵发生区的种群存在显著遗传分化。吴川种群的直接来源地疑似美国得克萨斯州周边区域——得克萨斯州是美国南部受红火蚁入侵的各州中对华出口货物量最高的州。中国境内其他空间隔离的偏远区域的绝大多数蚁群，彼此间遗传相似度极高，且均共享同一来源地（广东省吴川市），这表明长距离跳跃式扩散是近期中国红火蚁扩散的主要途径。此外，各偏远隔离采样点的绝大多数蚁群均为多后制（polygyn...）