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Hidden biodiversity in entomological collections: The overlooked co-occurrence of dipteran and hymenopteran ant parasitoids in stored biological material
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, PLoS ONE, 2017, 12 (9), pp.e0184614. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0184614⟩, PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 9, p e0184614 (2017), PLoS ONE, Public Library of Science, 2017, 12 (9), pp.e0184614. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0184614⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Public Library of Science, 2017.
-
Abstract
- Biological collections around the world are the repository of biodiversity on Earth; they also hold a large quantity of unsorted, unidentified, or misidentified material and can house behavioral information on species that are difficult to access or no longer available to science. Among the unsorted, alcohol-preserved material stored in the Formicidae Collection of the 'El Colegio de la Frontera Sur' Research Center (Chetumal, Mexico), we found nine colonies of the ponerine ant Neoponera villosa, that had been collected in bromeliads at Calakmul (Campeche, Mexico) in 1999. Ants and their brood were revised for the presence of any sign of parasitism. Cocoons were dissected and their content examined under a stereomicroscope. Six N. villosa prepupae had been attacked by the ectoparasitoid syrphid fly Hypselosyrphus trigonus Hull (Syrphidae: Microdontinae), to date the only known dipteran species of the Microdontinae with a parasitoid lifestyle. In addition, six male pupae from three colonies contained gregarious endoparasitoid wasps. These were specialized in parasitizing this specific host caste as no gyne or worker pupae displayed signs of having been attacked. Only immature stages (larvae and pupae) of the wasp could be obtained. Due to the long storage period, DNA amplification failed; however, based on biological and morphological data, pupae were placed in the Encyrtidae family. This is the first record of an encyrtid wasp parasitizing N. villosa, and the second example of an encyrtid as a primary parasitoid of ants. Furthermore, it is also the first record of co-occurrence of a dipteran ectoparasitoid and a hymenopteran endoparasitoid living in sympatry within the same population of host ants. Our findings highlight the importance of biological collections as reservoirs of hidden biodiversity, not only at the taxonomic level, but also at the behavioral level, revealing complex living networks. They also highlight the need for funding in order to carry out biodiversity inventories and manage existing collections.
- Subjects :
- Male
Life Cycles
[SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology
Arthropoda
Wasps
lcsh:Medicine
Social Sciences
Host-Parasite Interactions
Larvae
Sociology
Abdomen
Animals
lcsh:Science
ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS
[SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment
Behavior
Ecology
Animal Behavior
Ants
[SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology
Diptera
lcsh:R
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Organisms
Pupa
Biology and Life Sciences
Eukaryota
[SDV.EE.IEO] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Pupae
Biodiversity
Invertebrates
Hymenoptera
Trophic Interactions
Insects
[SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment
Species Interactions
Community Ecology
Parasitism
Animal Sociality
Larva
Social Systems
lcsh:Q
Zoology
[SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Research Article
Developmental Biology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 12
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLoS ONE
- Accession number :
- edsair.pmid.dedup....4c2c7e0dfc1dfbbe2883bdf347739d4b