ISOZYME GENOTYPE-ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATIONS IN NATURAL POPULATIONS OF THE HARVESTER ANT, POGONOMYRMEX BADIUS

Elizabeth K. Tomaszewski ¹, Henry E. Schaffer ², and F. M. Johnson ²

¹ Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
² Department of Genetics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607

Harvester ants (P. badius) were collected from 49 localities in the southeastern U.S. Amylase and naphthylamidase activities were assayed by gel electrophoresis, and the frequencies of alleles controlling electrophoretic variation were calculated. Soil samples were analyzed and plotted against allelic frequencies. Climatographic and genetic data were analyzed by the method of principal components. Statistically significant correlations were found to occur between the patterns of genetic variation, and between the genetic and environmental patterns. These correlations are consistent with a selective basis for the maintenance of isozyme polymorphisms.