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Current distribution and population dynamics of the little fire ant supercolony in Cameroon

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Abstract

The little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata, is native to Central America, but has been introduced into many parts of the world. We examined the current distribution of W. auropunctata in Cameroon, tested for aggression between workers from different parts of the country, and examined the genotypes of workers, queens, and males to evaluate the mating system. We found W. auropunctata at 36 sites in three provinces (Centre, East, and South). We found W. auropunctata only in human-disturbed habitats. Its spread appears to be primarily human mediated. Aggressive behaviour was almost non-existent between workers from different sites, indicating that there is only one supercolony in Cameroon. Our genetic analysis found that only one male/female pair of clones was introduced into Cameroon, probably from Gabon. No new male clonal lineage was identified, whereas new sexually derived female clonal lineages were noted. Apart from the genotype of the founding queen, which was well distributed but generally not dominant, a new clonal queen genotype emerged and was both omnipresent and dominant at most sites. These results may be useful in the development of management strategies.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Barbara Gerber for her help in the laboratory, Andrea Dejean for proof-reading the manuscript and two anonymous referees for their helpful comments on the manuscript. Financial support for this study was provided by a grant from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Project CORUS 2003-2006) and a grant from the French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development–request for proposals ECOTROP to AE and JO.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Biologie des Organismes Animaux, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Douala, BP 24157, Douala, Cameroun

    M. Tindo, M. Kenne & R. Mony

  2. Laboratoire de Zoologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Yaoundé I, BP 812, Yaoundé, Cameroun

    P. S. Mbenoun Masse & C. Djiéto-Lordon

  3. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane (UMR-CNRS 8172), Campus Agronomique, Kourou, France

    J. Orivel & A. Dejean

  4. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Cameroon Station, B.P. 2008, Yaoundé, Cameroun

    A. Doumtsop Fotio & A. Fotso Kuaté

  5. Laboratoire de Biologie Générale, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Yaoundé I, BP 812, Yaoundé, Cameroun

    A. Fomena

  6. Centre de Biologie et de Gestion des Populations, Institut National de Recherche Agronomique, Campus International de Baillarguet, CS 30 016, 34988, Montferrier/Lez Cedex, France

    A. Estoup & J. Foucaud

  7. Université de Toulouse; UPS-ECOLAB, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France

    A. Dejean

  8. Laboratoire Evolution Genome Speciation, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Avenue de la Terrasse, F 91198, Gif sur Yvette, France

    J. Foucaud

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  1. M. Tindo
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  2. P. S. Mbenoun Masse
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  3. M. Kenne
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  4. R. Mony
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  7. A. Fotso Kuaté
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  8. C. Djiéto-Lordon
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  12. J. Foucaud
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Correspondence to M. Tindo.

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Tindo, M., Mbenoun Masse, P.S., Kenne, M. et al. Current distribution and population dynamics of the little fire ant supercolony in Cameroon. Insect. Soc. 59, 175–182 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-011-0202-x

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