Mating system and population structure in the desert ant Cataglyphis livida |
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Authors: | Iris Timmermans L Grumiau A Hefetz S Aron |
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Institution: | 1. Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, CP 160/12, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50, av. F.D. Roosevelt, 1050, Brussels, Belgium 2. Department of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Abstract: | We investigated population genetic structure, mating system, worker reproduction and thelytokous parthenogenesis in the desert
ant Cataglyphis livida. Pedigree analyses at polymorphic microsatellite loci show that colonies are headed by a single queen, and that queens are
mated with two to eight males. No inbreeding was found in the population sampled. Colonies are genetically differentiated
and exhibit no isolation-by-distance pattern, consistent with independent foundation of new colonies. Workers do reproduce
and lay haploid (arrhenotokous) eggs in queenless colonies; conversely, we found no evidence of worker reproduction in queenright
nests. In contrast with C. cursor, where new queens are produced by thelytokous parthenogenesis, female sexuals and workers of C. livida arise from classical sexual reproduction. We discuss the parallels and contrasts between the mating system and population
structure in C. livida and the other Cataglyphis species studied so far. |
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