By understanding the intraspecific differences of traits presented by a species, we can gain greater insight into their variable functionality in microevolutionary processes relative to genetic and environmental factors leading to ecological adaptation and speciation. However, few studies have evaluated how intraspecific variation of cuticle hydrocarbons (CHCs) occurs in relation to the apolar part of ant venom. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition of compounds present in the cuticle and venom of different populations of Ectatomma brunneum ants. To accomplish this, 310 foragers from different populations were collected. Analysis of CHCs and the apolar part of the venom was performed using a gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer. Our results show that both the composition of CHCs and the apolar part of the venom vary significantly among the different populations. Differences in composition between the two types of compounds correlate with the geographic distance between the populations. In this sense, the greater the distance, the smaller is the gene flow between them. On the other hand, particular environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity and available resources, leading to changes generated by adaptation, could be responsible for a part of these differences.

中文翻译：

---

布鲁内特虫的毒液中表皮碳氢化合物和非极性化合物的种内变化

通过了解物种所表现出的种内差异，我们可以更深入地了解它们在微进化过程中与导致生态适应和物种形成的遗传和环境因素有关的可变功能。但是，很少有研究评估表皮碳氢化合物（CHC）的种内变异与蚂蚁毒液的非极性部分有关的情况。因此，本研究旨在评估存在于不同埃克托玛瘤菌的表皮和毒液中的化合物的化学组成蚂蚁。为此，收集了来自不同种群的310个觅食者。使用与质谱仪连接的气相色谱仪进行CHC和毒液非极性部分的分析。我们的结果表明，在不同人群中，CHC的成分和毒液的无极性部分均存在显着差异。两种化合物之间的成分差异与人群之间的地理距离相关。从这个意义上讲，距离越大，它们之间的基因流就越小。另一方面，导致适应性变化的特定环境条件（例如温度，湿度和可用资源）可能是造成这些差异的一部分。