Communications Biology (Feb 2021)

Bridgehead effect and multiple introductions shape the global invasion history of a termite

  • Alexander J. Blumenfeld,
  • Pierre-André Eyer,
  • Claudia Husseneder,
  • Jianchu Mo,
  • Laura N. L. Johnson,
  • Changlu Wang,
  • J. Kenneth Grace,
  • Thomas Chouvenc,
  • Shichen Wang,
  • Edward L. Vargo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-01725-x
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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Blumenfeld and Eyer et al. retrace the invasion history of the termite Coptotermes formosansus from eastern Asia to the US using approximate Bayesian computation. They find a complex invasion history, with multiple introductions originating from eastern Asia, as well as a bridgehead introduction originating from Hawaii, which appears to have mitigated the loss of genetic diversity within the invasive US range.