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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Imported Fire Ant and Household Insects Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #266950
Title: Diversification amongst the South American fire ants: how when and why species barriers break down

Author
item Lawson, Lucinda

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/5/2011
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Fire ants (Solenopsis) are an ideal model system for studying speciation and coexistence. Based on preliminary mitochondrial work, they appear to be a relatively recent radiation, and possibly a species swarm (ancient hybridization among young species). We are using a variety of phylogenetic, phylogeographic, and synergistic methods to understand (1) how to define species (addressing cryptic species, divergent morphospecies, etc.), (2) what the relationships are between species, (3) which species hybridize and under what conditions (and how that relates to the family tree), and (4) how parasitic species relate to the rest of the group. These are very complex questions, but using a variety of independent evidence datasets (molecular, distributional, morphological, etc.) we are beginning to tease apart this puzzle.