Eradication programs for invasive ants are often hampered by a lack of effective tools to detect, contain and kill the pests. Among the range of tools employed in the course of a 20-year eradication program for red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, in Australia, two of the most crucial for success are genetic analysis at both individual colony and population scales, and remote sensing for the detection of S. invicta mounds over large areas. Several genetic analyses are used by the program as an everyday operational tool to guide the eradication effort; for example, genotyping of the social form determines where and how far we need to search and treat, whereas nest relatedness derived from microsatellites aids in deciding when and where to target investigations into human-assisted movement of the pest. Microsatellite genotyping can determine the origin of new invasions into the country and has been used to verify the eradication of six distinct incursions of S. invicta in Australia, as well as demonstrating the pressure being exerted on the remaining Queensland population by the current eradication activities. Remote sensing played a key role in delimiting the extent of the S. invicta infestation in southeast Queensland in 2015, and in the future will assist in both delimitation and in verifying eradication of this ant in treatment areas as part of the proof of freedom process. Unquestionably, without these tools, the battle to eradicate S. invicta from Australia would be severely constrained, if not lost. These technologies may be applicable in management or eradication programs for S. invicta worldwide, and potentially for other invasive ant species.

中文翻译：

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等位基因和算法：遗传分析和遥感技术在蚂蚁根除计划中的作用

由于缺乏检测、控制和杀死害虫的有效工具，入侵蚂蚁的根除计划经常受到阻碍。在澳大利亚一项为期 20 年的红色进口火蚁 Solenopsis invicta 根除计划过程中使用的一系列工具中，成功的两个最关键的工具是个体群体和种群规模的遗传分析，以及遥感在大面积上检测 S. invicta 土丘。该计划使用多项遗传分析作为指导根除工作的日常操作工具；例如，社会形式的基因分型决定了我们需要搜索和处理的地点和范围，而来自微卫星的巢相关性有助于决定何时何地针对人类辅助移动的有害生物进行调查。微卫星基因分型可以确定新入侵该国的起源，并已被用于验证在澳大利亚根除六种不同的 S. invicta 入侵，以及证明当前根除活动对昆士兰剩余人口施加的压力。2015 年，遥感在界定昆士兰东南部的 S. invicta 侵染范围方面发挥了关键作用，未来将协助界定和验证在治疗区消灭这种蚂蚁，作为自由证明过程的一部分。毫无疑问，如果没有这些工具，从澳大利亚根除 S. invicta 的战斗即使没有失败也将受到严重限制。这些技术可能适用于全球 S. invicta 的管理或根除计划，