Genetic insights into family group co-occurrence in Cryptocercus punctulatus, a sub-social woodroach from the southern Appalachian Mountains.

ABSTRACT: The wood-feeding cockroach Cryptocercus punctulatus Scudder (Blattodea: Cryptocercidae) is an important member of the dead wood (saproxylic) community in montane forests of the southeastern United States. However, its population biology remains poorly understood. Here, aspects of family group co-occurrence were characterized to provide basic information that can be extended by studies on the evolution and maintenance of sub-sociality. Broad sampling across the species' range was coupled with molecular data (mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences). The primary questions were: (1) what proportion of rotting logs contain two or more different mtDNA haplotypes and how often can this be attributed to multiple families inhabiting the same log, (2) are multi-family logs spatially clustered, a

SUBMITTER: Garrick RC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5366060 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature