1
|
Sánchez-Restrepo AF, Chifflet L, Confalonieri VA, Tsutsui ND, Pesquero MA, Calcaterra LA. A Species delimitation approach to uncover cryptic species in the South American fire ant decapitating flies (Diptera: Phoridae: Pseudacteon). PLoS One 2020; 15:e0236086. [PMID: 32678835 PMCID: PMC7367480 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
South American fire ant decapitating flies in the genus Pseudacteon (Diptera: Phoridae) are potential biocontrol agents of the invasive fire ants Solenopsis invicta and S. richteri in the United States and other regions of the world due to their high host specificity and the direct and indirect damage to their host ants. Despite their importance and the fact that several flies have already been released in the US, little is known about the genetic variability and phylogenetic relationships of Pseudacteon flies parasitizing South American fire ants in the Solenopsis saevissima species-group. A species delimitation analysis was conducted using a distance-based method (ABGD) and two tree-based methods (GMYC and mPTP) using COI sequences of 103 specimens belonging to 20 of the 22 Pseudacteon species known from southern South America. Additionally, phylogenetic relationships between the already described and new candidate species were inferred using mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (wingless) sequences. The species delimitation analysis suggests that species richness in these flies has been previously underestimated, due to the existence of putative cryptic species within nominal Pseudacteon obtusus, P. pradei, P. tricuspis, P. cultellatus, and P. nudicornis. Geographic distribution and host fire ant species seem to support cryptic lineages, though additional morphological data are needed to corroborate these results. All phylogenetic analyses reveal that South American fire ant decapitating flies are grouped into two main clades, with Pseudacteon convexicauda sister and well differentiated relative to these clades. Neither host nor geographic association appeared to be related to the differentiation of these two main clades within South American fire ant decapitating flies. This work provides information that will allow testing whether the putative cryptic phorid fly species show differences in their effectiveness as biocontrol agents against the highly invasive imported fire ants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrés F. Sánchez-Restrepo
- Fundación para el Estudio de Especies Invasivas (FuEDEI), Hurlingham, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Instituto de Ecología Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA; UBA-CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- * E-mail:
| | - Lucila Chifflet
- Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Viviana Andrea Confalonieri
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Instituto de Ecología Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA; UBA-CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Neil D. Tsutsui
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Marcos Antônio Pesquero
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente e Sociedade (PPGAS), Universidade Estadual de Goiás, Morrinhos, Brasil
| | - Luis Antonio Calcaterra
- Fundación para el Estudio de Especies Invasivas (FuEDEI), Hurlingham, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Adams RMM, Wells RL, Yanoviak SP, Frost CJ, Fox EGP. Interspecific Eavesdropping on Ant Chemical Communication. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|
3
|
Chen L, Porter SD. Biology of Pseudacteon Decapitating Flies (Diptera: Phoridae) That Parasitize Ants of the Solenopsis saevissima Complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in South America. INSECTS 2020; 11:E107. [PMID: 32041256 PMCID: PMC7073655 DOI: 10.3390/insects11020107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 02/04/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Pseudacteon flies (Diptera: Phoridae) parasitize individual ant workers, causing decapitation of the host during pupariation. Phorid flies that attack South American fire ants in the Solenopsis saevissima (Smith) complex are distributed across a wide range of habitats and climates associated with the geographical range of their hosts. Sympatric species sharing the same hosts often partition niche resources by season, active time of day, host size, and/or different host activities. They have the potential of being used for biological control of the imported fire ants in North America, Australia, and Asia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Li Chen
- College of Life Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071001, China
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Sanford D. Porter
- Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture—Agricultural Research Service, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA;
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Arruda FV, Teresa FB, Martins HC, Pesquero MA, Bragança MAL. Seasonal and Site Differences in Phorid Parasitoidism Rates of Leaf-Cutting Ants. ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY 2019; 48:61-67. [PMID: 30517640 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvy166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2017] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Interspecific interactions are influenced by several environmental factors that may affect spatial and temporal dynamics. Seasonal variations in environmental conditions and differences among sites may affect the intensity of interactions and the abundance of interacting species. In this study, we describe the variability in parasitoids of Atta ants among sites and seasons over a year. More specifically, we studied parasitoidism of Atta sexdens Linnaeus and Atta laevigata Smith nests at a site with native cerrado vegetation and a Eucalyptus monoculture in dry and rainy seasons. Of the 45,147 workers collected, 1,020 (2.2%) were parasitized. We found five parasitoid species of A. sexdens and four species of A. laevigata. The two species of leaf-cutting ants shared similar parasitoid communities, but the infection rate was higher in A. laevigata (5.3%) compared with A. sexdens (0.8%). Parasitoidism rates of A. laevigata increased in the rainy season, but the rate for A. sexdens was consistently low in both seasons. The identity of the host species and the season, therefore, appear to interact to influence the rate of parasitoidism in these leaf-cutting ant species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Filipe V Arruda
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Biodiversidade, Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Porto Nacional, Brazil
- Campus de Ciências Exatas e Tecnológicas, Universidade Estadual de Goiás, Anápolis, Goiás, Brazil
| | - Fabrício Barreto Teresa
- Campus de Ciências Exatas e Tecnológicas, Universidade Estadual de Goiás, Anápolis, Goiás, Brazil
| | - Hendria C Martins
- Departamento de Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, MG, Brazil
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Chen L, Fadamiro HY. Pseudacteon Phorid Flies: Host Specificity and Impacts on Solenopsis Fire Ants. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2018; 63:47-67. [PMID: 28938082 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Human commerce has resulted in the spread of the imported fire ants, Solenopsis species, worldwide. Six species of parasitic Pseudacteon phorid flies that are highly host specific to the Solenopsis saevissima complex of Solenopsis fire ants have been successfully released in the southern United States. The presence of Pseudacteon phorid flies, in addition to having direct mortality effects on their host ants, modifies foraging behavior and disrupts interspecific competition between host species and other ant species in the community. Fire ant workers have evolved effective methods to cope with parasitism pressure, which may relieve population-level impacts of introduced phorid flies. This review focuses on the mechanisms underlying host location, host preference, and host-size selection of Pseudacteon phorid flies and highlights their direct and indirect effects on fire ant populations. Knowledge gained from parasitoid-ant interactions will enhance use of natural enemies as biological control agents for invasive social insects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Li Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China;
| | - Henry Y Fadamiro
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849;
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Wood A, Haga EB, Costa VA, Rossi MN. Geographic distribution, large-scale spatial structure and diversity of parasitoids of the seed-feeding beetle Acanthoscelides macrophthalmus. BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2017; 107:322-331. [PMID: 27765077 DOI: 10.1017/s0007485316000924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Bruchine beetles are highly host-specific seed feeders during the larval stage. Although some specific parasitoid families have been recorded attacking bruchine beetles, most studies have been done at small spatial scales. Therefore, the current knowledge about the diversity and the geographic distribution of parasitoid species parasitizing bruchines is scarce, especially at a wide geographic area that extends over large distances through a latitudinal cline (i.e. large-scale spatial structure). The present study determined the species richness and evenness of parasitoids attacking the bruchine beetle Acanthoscelides macrophthalmus feeding on Leucaena leucocephala seeds, examined their geographic distribution, and characterized the large-scale spatial structure in parasitoid species composition. A total of 1420 parasitoids (all Hymenoptera) belonging to four families, five subfamilies and eight species were collected (genera: Horismenus, Paracrias, Urosigalphus, Stenocorse, Chryseida, Eupelmus). Most parasitoid species showed wide spatial distribution, high evenness in species abundance and the species richness estimators were close to stabilization (approximately eight species). Overall, greater similarity was observed in the species composition of plant populations near to each other than those farther apart, revealing a large-scale spatial structure in parasitoid species composition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A Wood
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas,Universidade Federal de São Paulo, LEPOP (Laboratório de Ecologia Populacional),Diadema, SP,Brazil
| | - E B Haga
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas,Universidade Federal de São Paulo, LEPOP (Laboratório de Ecologia Populacional),Diadema, SP,Brazil
| | - V A Costa
- Centro Experimental do Instituto Biológico, Instituto Biológico,Campinas, SP,Brazil
| | - M N Rossi
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas,Universidade Federal de São Paulo, LEPOP (Laboratório de Ecologia Populacional),Diadema, SP,Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Callcott AMA, Porter SD, Weeks RD, “Fudd” Graham LC, Johnson SJ, Gilbert LE. Fire ant decapitating fly cooperative release programs (1994-2008): two Pseudacteon species, P. tricuspis and P. curvatus, rapidly expand across imported fire ant populations in the southeastern United States. JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2011; 11:19. [PMID: 21526930 PMCID: PMC3281391 DOI: 10.1673/031.011.0119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2008] [Accepted: 04/15/2010] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Natural enemies of the imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren S. richteri Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and their hybrid, include a suite of more than 20 fire ant decapitating phorid flies from South America in the genus Pseudacteon. Over the past 12 years, many researchers and associates have cooperated in introducing several species as classical or self-sustaining biological control agents in the United States. As a result, two species of flies, Pseudacteon tricuspis Borgmeier and P. curvatus Borgmeier (Diptera: Phoridae), are well established across large areas of the southeastern United States. Whereas many researchers have published local and state information about the establishment and spread of these flies, here distribution data from both published and unpublished sources has been compiled for the entire United States with the goal of presenting confirmed and probable distributions as of the fall of 2008. Documented rates of expansion were also used to predict the distribution of these flies three years later in the fall of 2011. In the fall of 2008, eleven years after the first successful release, we estimate that P. tricuspis covered about 50% of the fire ant quarantined area and that it will occur in almost 65% of the quarantine area by 2011. Complete coverage of the fire ant quarantined area will be delayed or limited by this species' slow rate of spread and frequent failure to establish in more northerly portions of the fire ant range and also, perhaps, by its preference for red imported fire ants (S. invicta). Eight years after the first successful release of P. curvatus, two biotypes of this species (one biotype occurring predominantly in the black and hybrid imported fire ants and the other occurring in red imported fire ants) covered almost 60% of the fire ant quarantined area. We estimate these two biotypes will cover almost 90% of the quarantine area by 2011 and 100% by 2012 or 2013. Strategic selection of several distributional gaps for future releases will accelerate complete coverage of quarantine areas. However, some gaps may be best used for the release of additional species of decapitating flies because establishment rates may be higher in areas without competing species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Marie A. Callcott
- USDA, APHIS, PPQ, Center for Plant Health Science and Technology, Gulfport Laboratory, 3505 25th Avenue, Gulfport, MS 39501
| | - Sanford D. Porter
- Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, USDA-ARS, 1600 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608
| | - Ronald D. Weeks
- USDA, APHIS, PPQ, Eastern Region Office, 920 Main Campus Drive, Raleigh, NC 27606-5213
| | - L. C. “Fudd” Graham
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University, 301 Funchess Hall, Auburn, AL 36849-5413
| | - Seth J. Johnson
- Department of Entomology, 400 Life Sciences Building, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
| | - Lawrence E. Gilbert
- Brackenridge Field Laboratory and Section of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Chirino MG, Folgarait PJ, Gilbert LE, Lanzavecchia S, Papeschi AG. Cytogenetic analysis of three species of Pseudacteon (Diptera, Phoridae) parasitoids of the fire ants using standard and molecular techniques. Genet Mol Biol 2009; 32:740-7. [PMID: 21637448 PMCID: PMC3036881 DOI: 10.1590/s1415-47572009005000073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2008] [Accepted: 05/04/2009] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Pseudacteon flies, parasitoids of worker ants, are being intensively studied as potentially effective agents in the biological control of the invasive pest fire ant genus Solenopsis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). This is the first attempt to describe the karyotype of P. curvatus Borgmeier, P. nocens Borgmeier and P. tricuspis Borgmeier. The three species possess 2n = 6; chromosomes I and II were metacentric in the three species, but chromosome pair III was subtelocentric in P. curvatus and P. tricuspis, and telocentric in P. nocens. All three species possess a C positive band in chromosome II, lack C positive heterochromatin on chromosome I, and are mostly differentiated with respect to chromosome III. P. curvatus and P. tricuspis possess a C positive band, but at different locations, whereas this band is absent in P. nocens. Heterochromatic bands are neither AT nor GC rich as revealed by fluorescent banding. In situ hybridization with an 18S rDNA probe revealed a signal on chromosome II in a similar location to the C positive band in the three species. The apparent lack of morphologically distinct sex chromosomes is consistent with proposals of environmental sex determination in the genus. Small differences detected in chromosome length and morphology suggests that chromosomes have been highly conserved during the evolutionary radiation of Pseudacteon. Possible mechanisms of karyotype evolution in the three species are suggested.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mónica G. Chirino
- Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Bernal, Buenos AiresArgentina
| | - Patricia J. Folgarait
- Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Bernal, Buenos AiresArgentina
| | | | | | - Alba G. Papeschi
- Laboratorio de Citogenética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos AiresArgentina
| |
Collapse
|