Project 1 - Ants: Taxonomic and Evolutionary Studies of a Hyperdiverse Fauna1.1: Molecular phylogenetics of the ant genus Camponotus
Challenges
Ants of the genus Camponotus occur worldwide and in very diverse habitats. This very large ant genus contains about 1000 species with a similar overall body shape. Despite their being abundant, large and obvious, the biology, ecology and taxonomy of these ants are poorly understood, which makes it a hardly manageable group. In the late 19th and early 20th century, 50 sub-genera were erected, but some may not represent natural groups and others may be as different from each other as separate genera.
Seeking solutions
We will establish whether the genus Camponotus and its sub-genera are monophyletic groups and how they relate to each other and other closely related formicine ant genera.
Approaches
We will sequence parts of 8 genes for all major sub-genera of Camponotus and 6 other ant genera. From this sequence information phylogenetic trees will be constructed using the statistical methods of Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference. Using these trees we can then study the evolution of morphological and ecological characteristics of these species.
Collaboration
Ant researchers from all over the world have contributed specimens from their collections enabling us to include many groups from other continents as well as Australia. For later reference voucher specimens will be deposited in the ants section of the Australian National Insect Collection curated by Dr Steve Shattuck.
Tools for Decision Makers
We will make suggestions how to group the species of Camponotus naturally and which groups to raise to genus rank. Our results will be published in scientific journal articles. Particularly the new system of the Australian fauna will be included in the web site Australian Ants Online by Steve Shattuck and Natalie Barnett.
