title: Mitochondrial Phylogenomics Resolves the Global Spread of Higher Termites, Ecosystem Engineers of the Tropics.
abstract: The higher termites (Termitidae) are keystone species and ecosystem engineers. They have exceptional biomass and play important roles in decomposition of dead plant matter, in soil manipulation, and as the primary food for many animals, especially in the tropics. Higher termites are most diverse in rainforests, with estimated origins in the late Eocene (∼54 Ma), postdating the breakup of Pangaea and Gondwana when most continents became separated. Since termites are poor fliers, their origin and spread across the globe requires alternative explanation. Here, we show that higher termites originated 42-54 Ma in Africa and subsequently underwent at least 24 dispersal events between the continents in two main periods. Using phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial genomes from 415 species, including all higher termite taxonomic and feeding groups, we inferred 10 dispersal events to South America and Asia 35-23 Ma, coinciding with the sharp decrease in global temperature, sea level, and rainforest cover in the Oligocene. After global temperatures increased, 23-5 Ma, there was only one more dispersal to South America but 11 to Asia and Australia, and one dispersal back to Africa. Most of these dispersal events were transoceanic and might have occurred via floating logs. The spread of higher termites across oceans was helped by the novel ecological opportunities brought about by environmental and ecosystem change, and led termites to become one of the few insect groups with specialized mammal predators. This has parallels with modern invasive species that have been able to thrive in human-impacted ecosystems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.|Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.|School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bourguignon
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Šobotník
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Simon Y W
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Naeem
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Iqbal
authors.affiliation: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA), Grenoble, France.|Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA), Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Coissac
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Martin M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Jendryka
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Sorbonne Universités, iEES-Paris, Bondy, France.|Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, LEEC, Villetaneuse, France.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sillam-Dussès
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Barbora
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Krížková
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Roisin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.|School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Theodore A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial; D058865:Introduced Species; D020049:Isoptera / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography / Q000379:methods; D065947:Rainforest
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Isoptera.; historical biogeography; insects