Barcode Long Island Team Camponotus Campers
Program:
Barcode Long Island
Year:
2020-21
Research Topic:
Wildlife
Taxonomic Group Studied:
Animals: Invertebrate

Project:

The Evolutionary Relationships of Parasitic Ants and their Hosts
Students:
Kevin Darcy, Raymond Bailey
School:
Long Island Aquarium, Suffolk
Mentors:
Jeffry Petracca

Abstract:

There are roughly 13,500 various species of ants in the world, with the United States alone being host to nearly 1,000 of that 13,500 species​1​. Clearly, the United States contains an extraordinary amount of ant diversity. Within this diversity, roughly 300 of these species exhibit temporary, dulotic, or inquiline social parasitism​1​. While research has been done to explore the evolution of social parasitism, the details of their evolutionary relationships are still widely under debate. Social parasites can be found more commonly in temperate regions than tropical regions,and in specific genera and subgenera of ants. While it is clear that a socially parasitic species can be observed utilizing multiple different hosts, it is not clear when, where, or why these species evolved. The extent of this research project will delve into where and when the relationship between parasitic and their hosts lay in their evolutionary history. By comparing the DNA sequence of cytochrome oxida

Poster:

DNA Barcoding Poster
View team poster (PDF/PowerPoint)

Team samples: