Ecological interactions among ants in the genus <i>Linepithema</i>, their phorid parasitoids, and ant competitors

Orr, Matthew R.; Dahlsten, Donald L.; Benson, Woodruff Whitman

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2311.2003.00506.x

Cited by 33 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(50 reference statements)

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“…Although this might have been a consequence of the low number of Xies (or their delayed appearance), the lack of eVect is consistent with other studies on S. geminata and S. invicta in the United States Morrison 1999) and on Linepithema sp. in Brazil (Orr et al (2003), where Xy densities were much higher. Besides, competitors of S. invicta could also have been aVected by parasitoid Xies, as suggested by Disney (1994) for Argentina and Brazil.…”

Section: Evects Of Phorid Parasitoidsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Ecological dominance of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, in its native range

Calcaterra¹,

Livore

Delgado³

et al. 2008

Oecologia

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Despite the widespread impacts invasive species can have in introduced populations, little is known about competitive mechanisms and dominance hierarchies between invaders and similar taxa in their native range. This study examines interactions between the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, and other above-ground foraging ants in two habitats in northeastern Argentina. A combination of pitfall traps and baits was used to characterize the ant communities, their dominance relationships, and to evaluate the effect of phorid flies on the interactions. Twenty-eight ant species coexisted with S. invicta in a gallery forest gap, whereas only ten coexisted with S. invicta in a xerophytic forest grassland. S. invicta was the most numerically dominant species in the richest and complex habitat (gallery forest); however it performed better as discoverer and dominator in the simpler habitat. S. invicta was active during day and night. In spite of its poor capacity to discover resources, S. invicta showed the highest ecological dominance and the second-best behavioral dominance after Camponotus blandus. S. invicta won 78% of the interactions with other ants, mostly against its most frequent competitor, Pheidole cf. obscurithorax, dominating baits via mass recruitment and chemical aggression. P. cf. obscurithorax was the best food discoverer. S. invicta won 80% of the scarce interactions with Linepithema humile. Crematogaster quadriformis was one of the fastest foragers and the only ant that won an equal number of contests against S. invicta. The low presence of phorid flies affected the foraging rate of S. invicta, but not the outcome of interspecific interactions. This study revealed that the red imported fire ant ecologically dominated other terrestrial ants in its native range; however, other species were able to be numerically dominant or co-dominant in its presence.

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Section: Evects Of Phorid Parasitoidsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Ecological dominance of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, in its native range

Calcaterra¹,

Livore

Delgado³

et al. 2008

Oecologia

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“…25, which are only active during daylight hours, may also reinforce dominant host competitive ability (e.g., Linepithema sp. ; Orr et al 2003). In the case of P. diversipilosa and P. bicarinata, diel escape may play only a minor role in enforcing their dominance in the community because both hosts show signiWcant (P. diversipilosa) or near signiWcant (P. bicarinata) preferences for foraging during daylight hours (LeBrun 2005).…”

Section: Community Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat complexity modifies ant–parasitoid interactions: implications for community dynamics and the role of disturbance

Wilkinson

Feener

2006

Oecologia

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Species must balance effective competition with avoidance of mortality imposed by predators or parasites to coexist within a local ecological community. Attributes of the habitat in which species interact, such as structural complexity, have the potential to affect how species balance competition and mortality by providing refuge from predators or parasites. Disturbance events such as fire can drastically alter habitat complexity and may be important modifiers of species interactions in communities. This study investigates whether the presence of habitat complexity in the form of leaf litter can alter interactions between the behaviorally dominant host ants Pheidole diversipilosa and Pheidole bicarinata, their respective specialist dipteran parasitoids (Phoridae: Apocephalus sp. 8 and Apocephalus sp. 25) and a single species of ant competitor (Dorymyrmex insanus). We used a factorial design to manipulate competition (presence/absence of competitors), mortality risk (presence/absence of parasitoids) and habitat complexity (presence/absence of leaf litter). Parasitoid presence reduced soldier caste foraging, but refuge from habitat complexity allowed increased soldier foraging in comparison to treatments in which no refuge was available. Variation in soldier foraging behavior correlated strongly with foraging success, a proxy for colony fitness. Habitat complexity allowed both host species to balance competitive success with mortality avoidance. The effect of fire on habitat complexity was also studied, and demonstrated that the immediate negative impact of fire on habitat complexity can persist for multiple years. Our findings indicate that habitat complexity can increase dominant host competitive success even in the presence of parasitoids, which may have consequences for coexistence of subordinate competitors and community diversity in general.

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“…Considering the Pantanal biome, few papers (Oliveira et al 1987;Orr et al 2003;Uehara-Prado 2005) have been published regarding ants, although ants are largely used as indicators of habitat conservation status and disturbance indicators (e.g. Andersen et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ant communities, environmental characteristics and their implications for conservation in the Brazilian Pantanal

Ribas

Schoereder

2006

Biodivers Conserv

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Studies about processes determining biodiversity in Pantanal are urgently needed and the use of invertebrates for this purpose may be an efficient tool. The purpose of this paper is to verify whether ants could be used to predict human impacts on Pantanal, assessing how environmental characteristics of gallery forest influence arboreal ant species richness. Specifically, we tested the hypotheses that: (i) resource availability (estimated by tree density) and (ii) diversity of environmental conditions (estimated by structural heterogeneity) positively influence arboreal ant species richness and composition. Ants were sampled in a gallery forest in the Miranda River. Ant species richness did not respond to tree density, but increased with structural heterogeneity. Species composition was affected both by tree density and structural heterogeneity. The species list produced in the present study showed a high similarity between arboreal ant faunas of Cerrado and Pantanal, which are contiguous biomes. The relationship of ant species richness with heterogeneity, as well as the observed changes of species composition with tree density and heterogeneity may be explained by the presence of a variation of environmental conditions, which create several micro-habitats in the forest. The response of the ant community can reflect human impacts on the forests of the studied region, which are usually modified to create patches for sport fishing and by pathways used in ecotourism.

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Ecological interactions among ants in the genus Linepithema, their phorid parasitoids, and ant competitors

Cited by 33 publications

References 28 publications

Ecological dominance of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, in its native range

Ecological dominance of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, in its native range

Habitat complexity modifies ant–parasitoid interactions: implications for community dynamics and the role of disturbance

Ant communities, environmental characteristics and their implications for conservation in the Brazilian Pantanal

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