Regional-scale multi-analyses of Argentine ant populations in Southern Europe Blight, O., Berville, L., Vogel, V., Hefetz, A., Renucci, M., Orgeas, J., Keller, L., Provost, E. In their introduced range, Argentine ant populations are often comprised of one geographically vast supercolony, genetically and chemically uniform within which intraspecific aggression is absent. Recent studies found that the supercolonies extending over hundreds of kilometres in the USA, Europe and Australia are chemically and genetically similar and exhibit no mutual aggression suggesting that they belong to only one global supercolony. Frequent movements and introductions of Argentine ant propagules among distant parts of the global supercolony may explain genetics and chemical homogeneity among these populations. In Southern Europe, a third European supercolony was found at a regional scale, a new supercolony showing aggressiveness toward the main supercolony but chemically close. Here we present patterns of intraspecific aggression, analyses of recognition cues (cuticular hydrocarbons) and colony genetic using microsatellite loci of 20 nesting sites across Corsica and the mainland. Behavioural results confirm the presence of the new supercolony. Aggressiveness between the Corsican supercolony and the main supercolony varied from moderate to high following the colony pairing whereas it was systematically high with the Catalonian supercolony. Although chemical data support the behavioural results, the two supercolonies were genetically not clearly discriminated. These regional results highlight the nicety of mechanisms involved in unicolonial ant recognition and address questions on the origin and evolution of two supercolonies chemically close and genetically indistinguishable. 1. Institut Méditerranéen d’Ecologie et de Paléoécologie, Aix-Marseille University (Paul Cézanne), France 2. Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland 3. Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Israel
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