Phylogeny of sand termites

Abstract

The sand termite Psammotermes allocerus is widely distributed in in southern Africa. To investigate the genetic diversity of this species 113 samples were collected in the arid regions of South Africa, Namibia and Angola in fairy circles and also in landscapes without fairy circles. The mitochondrial markers COI and COII were selected to perform Bayesian Inference analysis. The phylogenetic tree is composed of eight well-supported genetic groups within the species complex. In a synopsis with also studied morphological features the eight groups Northern Namib, Western Kalahari Basin, Nama, Southwestern Kalahari, East Gariep, Southern Namib, Tsau IIKhaeb and Succulent Karoo should be considered as distinct species. The species name P. allocerus should be used for termite collections of the Succulent Karoo due to their basal position in the phylogeny.

Evolution at the arid extreme: the influence of climate on sand termite colonies and fairy circles of the Namib Desert

“…There is broad evidence that indicates colonies of the sand termite (Psammotermes allocerus species complex) of the termite family Rhinotermitidae play an essential role in the formation of fairy circles of the Namib Desert region [14,37,38]. The most convincing evidence includes:…”

“…The other type, the permanent nest, serves the function of improved long-term protection, reproduction, and possibly a minor level of food storage [14]. [38]. Posterior probability values above 0.98 are highlighted with a star above the branches.…”

“…Abbreviations of the study sites are listed in the electronic supplementary material. (The figure of the phylogenetic tree is a permitted copy from Gunter et al [38]. The presentation of the states of five traits for each single sample is presented here for the first time).…”

“…There is broad evidence that indicates colonies of the sand termite ( Psammotermes allocerus species complex) of the termite family Rhinotermitidae play an essential role in the formation of fairy circles of the Namib Desert region [ 14 , 37 , 38 ]. The most convincing evidence includes: In all landscapes containing fairy circles, from the Iona National Park in Angola to the Richtersveld in South Africa, colonies and activities of Psammotermes (living animals, nests, soil dumps, tunnels or galleries) have been observed within fairy circles.…”

“…Historically, all sand termite collections in the arid regions of southern Africa described in [ 54 ] were regarded as one species. However, recent morphological and molecular studies with a focus on the sand termite populations of the more arid regions in southern Africa revealed a complex of eight well-supported species [ 38 , 65 ].…”