Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biology

Committee Chairperson

Manuela Ramalho, PhD

Committee Member

Jennifer Uehling, PhD

Committee Member

John Pisciotta, PhD

Abstract

Ants are vital keystone species in many ecosystems because they provide ecosystem services such as: seed dispersal, soil bioturbation, and pest control. However, ant bacterial symbioses remain largely unstudied, but these interactions are crucial because microbes play a vital role in the ants’ overall health. Today, global climate change is impacting our biodiversity, and we can use information about how changing temperatures impact the symbiotic bacterial communities associated with ants to predict future impact. Aphaenogaster rudis and A. fulva remain understudied in terms of their bacterial community and are important North American species. For this study, ants from several colonies were collected from the Gordon Natural Area in West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. DNA was extracted from whole ants in all development stages and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed with NGS amplification. Chapter one will examine the natural bacterial communities of A. rudis and A. fulva and answer the questions: Do they have a core bacterial community? Does the development stage, species and colony impact the bacterial community? Chapter two will explore the impact that global climate change has on the A. rudis bacterial community and answer the questions: How do warming temperatures impact the survival and bacterial communities of A. rudis? The findings from this study can be used to help better comprehend ant-microbe interactions and by better understanding the impact that global climate change will have on Aphaenogaster bacterial community and survival, we can use this information to help mitigate the influence of climate change in the future.

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