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The northward distribution of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) 40 years later: revisiting Robert E. Gregg’s 1969 Subarctic collection sites in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2015

M. Alex Smith ,
Amanda Boyd ,
Trevor Bringloe ,
Christopher Britton-Foster ,
Hayley Cahill ,
Kelsey Desnoyers ,
Natalie Duitshaever ,
Daniel Gibson ,
Stephen James  and
Yurak Jeong
...Show all authors
M. Alex Smith*
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Amanda Boyd
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Trevor Bringloe
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Christopher Britton-Foster
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Hayley Cahill
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Kelsey Desnoyers
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Natalie Duitshaever
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Daniel Gibson
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Stephen James
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Yurak Jeong
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Darren Kelly
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Elli Levene
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Hilary Lyttle
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Talia Masse
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Kate Pare
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Kelsie Paris
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Cassandra Russell
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Eric Scott
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Deborah Silva
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Megan Sparkes
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Kami Valkova
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Sarah J. Adamowicz
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
*
1 Corresponding author (e-mail: salex@uoguelph.ca).
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Abstract

In 1969, Robert E. Gregg collected five species of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in three Subarctic localities near the town of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, which he documented in a 1972 publication in The Canadian Entomologist. To determine whether there have been any additions to the local fauna – as might be predicted to occur in response to a warming climate and increased traffic to the Port of Churchill in the intervening 40 years – we re-collected ants from the same localities in 2012. We identified the ants we collected from Gregg’s sampling sites using both traditional morphological preparations and DNA barcoding. In addition, we examined specimens from Gregg’s initial collection that are accessioned at the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago, Illinois, United States of America). Using this integrative approach we report seven species present at the same sites Gregg sampled 40 years earlier. We conclude that the apparent increase is likely not due to any arrivals from more southerly distributed ants, but to the increased resolution provided by DNA barcodes to resident species complexes with a complicated history. We provide a brief synopsis of these results and their taxonomic context.

Type
Biodiversity & Evolution
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 148 , Issue 3 , June 2016 , pp. 307 - 315
Copyright
© Entomological Society of Canada 2015 

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Footnotes

Subject editor: Christopher Buddle

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