University of Vermont ScholarWorks @ UVM Graduate College Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 2008 A Phylogenetic Analysis of North American Lasius Ants Based on Mitochondrial and Nuclear DNA Trevor Manendo University of Vermont Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis Recommended Citation Manendo, Trevor, "A Phylogenetic Analysis of North American Lasius Ants Based on Mitochondrial and Nuclear DNA" (2008). Graduate College Dissertations and Theses. 146. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/146 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks @ UVM. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate College Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UVM. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. A phylogenetic analysis of North American Lasius ants based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. A Thesis Presented by Trevor Manendo to The Faculty of the Graduate College of The University of Vermont In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Specializing in Biology May, 2008 Accepted by the Faculty of the Graduate College, The University of Vermont in Partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science specializing in Biology. Thesis Examination Committee: ice President for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies Date: March 19,2008 ABSTRACT The ant genus Lasius (Formicinae) arose during the early Tertiary approximately 65 million years ago. Lasius is one of the most abundant and widely distributed ant genera in the Holarctic region, with 95 described species placed in six subgenera: Acanthomyops, Austrolasius, Cautolasius, Chthonolasius, Dendrolasius and Lasius.