Open AccessAmplified fragment length polymorphism fingerprints support limited gene flow among social spider populations
Author(s) -
SMITH DEBORAH,
VAN RIJN SANDER,
HENSCHEL JOH,
BILDE TRINE,
LUBIN YAEL
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
biological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.906
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1095-8312
pISSN - 0024-4066
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2009.01194.x
Subject(s) - biology , gene flow , biological dispersal , spider , population , analysis of molecular variance , nest (protein structural motif) , ecology , evolutionary biology , zoology , genetic variation , genetics , gene , demography , biochemistry , sociology
We used DNA fingerprints to determine whether the population structure and colony composition of the cooperative social spider Stegodyphus dumicola are compatible with requirements of interdemic (‘group’) selection: differential proliferation of demes or groups and limited gene flow among groups. To investigate gene flow among groups, spiders were collected from nests at 21 collection sites in Namibia. Analysis of molecular variance showed a small but highly significant differentiation among geographic regions (Φ PT = 0.23, P = 0.001). Thirty‐three nests at four collection sites (6–10 spiders per nest, 292 individual spiders) were investigated in more detail to evaluate variation within and among colonies and among collection sites. In these 33 nests, an average of 15% of loci (fingerprint bands) were polymorphic among nestmates; 16% of observed variance was partitioned among collection sites, 48% among nests within a collection site, and 36% among individuals within nests. Spatial autocorrelation analyses of spiders at three collection sites showed that the maximum extent of detectable spatial autocorrelation among individuals was approximately 30 m, indicating dispersal over greater distances is not typical. These results indicate limited gene flow among nests, as well as spatial structuring at the level of regions, local populations, and nests, compatible with interdemic selection. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2009, 97 , 235–246.