Understanding the factors that underlie colonization success is crucial both for ecological theory and conservation practices. The most effective way to assess colonization ability is to introduce experimentally different sets of individuals in empty patches of suitable habitat and to monitor the outcome. We translocated mated female waterstriders, Aquarius najas, into 90 streams that were not currently inhabited by the species. We manipulated sizes of propagules (from 2 to 16 mated females) and numbers of origin populations (one or two). Three origin populations were genetically different from each other, but they were less than 150 km from the streams of translocation. The results demonstrate clearly that both the larger propagule size and the high number of source populations have positive effects on the probability of colonizing a new stream. Thus, in addition to the stochastic factors related to the propagule size it may be essential to consider also the diversity of genetic origin for colonization success.
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Ants have a negative impact on populations of many arthropod species. On the other hand, numerous arthropod species live in association with ants. In this paper we list ant-associated beetles (including myrmecophiles) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Data is based on a literature survey and new field observations. We list 369 ant-associated beetle species of which 73 are categorized as myrmecophilous. Our data suggests that there might be numerous beetle species associated with ants, which are not generally known to do so. This indicates that ant colonies may be important habitats for a large variety of beetle species.
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