Collaborative Research: Speciation and Evolution of Fire Ants - An Integrated Population Genetic, Phylogenetic, and Ecological Approach

University Of Georgia Research Foundation Inc, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

The red-imported fire ant is one of the world's worst invasive species and costs associated with control, management, and agricultural losses due to this insect exceed a billion dollars a year in the United States. Despite arriving in the southeastern United States from South America over 70 years ago, we still know very little about the what areas are vulnerable to this invader, what delineates species boundaries in the fire ant species complex, and which new species of fire ant may become invaders in the future. We will integrate molecular and ecological techniques to address these outstanding questions. This information will be of enormous scientific value, as we investigate the nature of species and the delineation of species boundaries, as well as of practical value for understanding the full invasive potential of the highly damaging fire ant pest species and for conceiving novel management strategies for these pests. A central societal issue to be addressed in the broader impacts of the proposed project is the critical shortage of well-trained science teachers in primary and secondary schools in the U.S.A. Two strategies will be employed to encourage students to consider science education/scientific research as career options, one involving students at public high schools in northern Georgia and central Illinois, and the other involving undergraduates.