Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2020
Keywords
biogeography, termite distribution, species dispersion
Abstract
The drywood termite Incisitermes schwarzi is distributed from Florida through the Caribbean Basin to northern South America, yet the processes shaping its geographic structure remain poorly understood. We analyzed mitochondrial 16S and COII gene sequences from 17 colonies collected across 13 countries to assess genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and isolation by distance. Concatenated sequence analyses revealed 0.3–9.1% divergence for 16S and 0.6–10.0% for COII, with most haplotypes unique to individual locations. Phylogenetic reconstruction supported I. schwarzi as a monophyletic lineage and identified geographically structured clades corresponding broadly to regional groupings within the Caribbean and mainland Americas. Isolation-by-distance analyses showed a significant correlation between genetic and straight-line (Euclidean) geographic distances, stronger than overland (non-Euclidean) distances, suggesting that overwater dispersal has played a major role in shaping population structure. These findings support a model of oceanic and likely anthropogenic dispersal, rather than land-bridge connectivity alone, as key drivers of the contemporary distribution of I. schwarzi. This study substantially expands available genetic data for the species and provides new insight into Caribbean termite biogeography.
Citation
Janowiecki, Mark A., Rudolf H. Scheffrahn, James W. Austin, and Allen L. Szalanski. "Population structure of the drywood termite Incisitermes schwarzi (Blattodea: Kalotermitidae) in the Caribbean." Journal of Agricultural and Urban Entomology 36, no. 1 (2020): 101-108.
