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Endemic origin and vast anthropogenic dispersal of the West Indian drywood termite

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Abstract

Cryptotermes brevis is a common pest of structural lumber and sheltered wood in much of the non-Asian tropics. Until now, no endemic locality, as confirmed by regenerating outdoor populations, was known. A termite survey of the northern coastal desert of Chile and the vicinity of Lima, Peru, yielded 61 outdoor populations of C. brevis taken from 23 different native and exotic species of host woods at 19 localities. We review the taxonomic and biogeographic history of C. brevis and suggest climatic and biological factors that favor or limit C. brevis distribution. We also propose a scenario implicating a post-Colombian release of C. brevis by shipboard infestations and the movement of infested wood during the early Spanish Empire to the present time.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Fundación para la Innovación Agraria, FIA, Chile, for travel support of JK during the Chilean phase of the field work. We also thank the personnel of Tres Soles Vineyards, Copiapó, for field assistance. We are indebted to Elizabeth Núñez, Carlos Torres, and Graciano Tejada from SENASA, Lima for field support and logistics in Peru. The first author appreciates the lively discussions and suggestions of Nan-Yao Su and review by Boudanath Maharajh. We also thank James Austin, Jeff Edwards, Matt Messenger, Jay Nixon, and Brenton Peters for their contributions to the discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 3205 College Avenue, Davie, FL, 33314, USA

    Rudolf H. Scheffrahn & Jan Křeček

  2. Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, Centro Regional de Investigación V Región, Chorrillos 86, La Cruz, Chile

    Renato Ripa & Paola Luppichini

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  1. Rudolf H. Scheffrahn
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  2. Jan Křeček
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  3. Renato Ripa
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  4. Paola Luppichini
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Correspondence to Rudolf H. Scheffrahn.

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Scheffrahn, R.H., Křeček, J., Ripa, R. et al. Endemic origin and vast anthropogenic dispersal of the West Indian drywood termite. Biol Invasions 11, 787–799 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9293-3

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