A comparative study of the fauna associated with nest mounds of native and introduced populations of the red wood ant Formica paralugubris

Frizzi, Filippo; Masoni, Alberto; Migliorini, Massimo; Fanciulli, Pietro Paolo; Cianferoni, Fabio; Balzani, Paride; Giannotti, Stefano; Davini, Giovanna; Wendt, Clara Frasconi; Santini, Giacomo

doi:10.1016/j.ejsobi.2020.103241

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…In some sites, such as the Campigna Biogenetic Nature Reserve (Central Italy), populations were introduced at locations spatially segregated by several hundred meters or a few kilometers [24,25]. The majority of introductions occurred in fir-dominated forests (Abies alba), which resemble the original alpine habitat [26], but also in forests with increasing beech (Fagus sylvatica) density. It is known that environmental context and isolation are two factors that may influence colony arrangement and intraspecific relationships of RWA populations [12,27], and we may therefore expect that these populations may differ to some extent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific Relationships and Nest Mound Shape Are Affected by Habitat Features in Introduced Populations of the Red Wood Ant Formica paralugubris

Frizzi

Masoni

Santedicola

et al. 2022

Insects

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Ants belonging to the Formica rufa group build large nest mounds, which aid their survival during severe winters. We investigated whether different environmental features of the habitats affected the nest mound shape and the population structure. We assessed the shape of all the nest mounds and mapped inter-nest trails connecting mounds for three imported populations of Formica paralugubris in three forest habitats: fir-dominated, beech-dominated, and a mixture of fir and beech. Single-nest mounds were averagely smaller and flatter in the beech-dominated forest, probably because of lighter building materials. Nonetheless, by summing the volumes of all interconnected nests, the size was similar among all three sites. In fir- and beech-dominated forests, large nests were also central in the networks, suggesting a central place foraging model with these nests as reference. We finally performed aggression tests, and found that aggressiveness was significantly higher among nests belonging to the same population than between populations. The results highlight the plasticity of the species to adapt nest and colony structure to different environments. Additionally, it appears that none of these populations is unicolonial, as observed in various alpine sites, there and the observed patterns of aggression are coherent with the ‘nasty neighbor’ effect.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific Relationships and Nest Mound Shape Are Affected by Habitat Features in Introduced Populations of the Red Wood Ant Formica paralugubris

Frizzi

Masoni

Santedicola

et al. 2022

Insects

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“…In this study we investigate the trophic ecology of a red wood ant Formica paralugubris native to the Italian Alps and introduced to other parts of Italy and in Canada as biological control agent (Seifert 2016, Frizzi et al 2020). Red wood ants (RWA) are a group of dominant ant species, widespread at high latitudes and altitudes in the Northern Hemisphere (Stockan et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasticity in the trophic niche of an invasive ant explains establishment success and long‐term coexistence

Balzani

Vizzini

Frizzi

et al. 2021

Oikos

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Invasive species are one of the main threats to biodiversity worldwide and the processes enabling their establishment and persistence remain poorly understood. In generalist consumers, plasticity in diet and trophic niche may play a crucial role in invasion success. There is growing evidence that invasive ants, in particular, occupy lower trophic levels in their introduced range compared to the native one, but evidences remain fragmented. We conducted stable isotope analysis at five locations distributed on two continents to infer the trophic position of the invasive ant Formica paralugubris in the native and introduced part of the range. This species forms large colonies and can be a voracious predator while feeding on sugar-based resources as well. Whereas native populations had trophic positions comparable to that of an omnivore, the introduced populations varied from being honeydew specialists to top predators, or omnivore. Where other ant species co-occurred, there was no overlap in their trophic niches, and F. paralugubris occupied the lower position, suggesting that trophic displacement may enable the coexistence of different ant species. Taken together, our results suggest that shifts in diet associated with changes in the trophic niche of introduced species might mediate invasion success and enable long-term coexistence with native species.

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“…RWAs host many myrmecophiles that thrive in their nest mounds (e.g., Frizzi et al., 2020 ), some of which are obligate mutualists and cannot survive outside RWA nests (Robinson et al., 2016 ). Some of these obligate guest species are listed on the IUCN Red List.…”

Section: Suggestions For a Strategic Approach For A Future European C...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and a call to action for protecting European red wood ants

Balzani

Dekoninck

Feldhaar

et al. 2022

Conservation Biology

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A comparative study of the fauna associated with nest mounds of native and introduced populations of the red wood ant Formica paralugubris

Cited by 11 publications

References 70 publications

Intraspecific Relationships and Nest Mound Shape Are Affected by Habitat Features in Introduced Populations of the Red Wood Ant Formica paralugubris

Intraspecific Relationships and Nest Mound Shape Are Affected by Habitat Features in Introduced Populations of the Red Wood Ant Formica paralugubris

Plasticity in the trophic niche of an invasive ant explains establishment success and long‐term coexistence

Challenges and a call to action for protecting European red wood ants

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