Red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) aggression influences the behavior of three hard tick species

Kjeldgaard, MacKenzie; Takano, Oona M.; Bockoven, Alison A.; Teel, Pete D.; Light, Jessica E.; Hamer, Sarah A.; Hamer, Gabriel L.; Eubanks, Micky D.

doi:10.1007/s10493-019-00419-8

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Solenopsis invicta (red imported fire ants) thrive in recently burned forests and prey on A. americanum and A. maculatum , thereby reducing their abundances (Gleim et al, 2013). Solenopsis invicta are especially quick to attack engorged A. maculatum nymphs but will also feed on other life stages of A. americanum and A. maculatum (Kjeldgaard et al, 2019). In response, A. americanum and A. maculatum drastically reduce their activity in the presence of S. invicta in an effort to go undetected, thereby reducing their time spent questing (Kjeldgaard et al, 2019).…”

Section: Prescribed Fire As a Control For Tick Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Solenopsis invicta are especially quick to attack engorged A. maculatum nymphs but will also feed on other life stages of A. americanum and A. maculatum (Kjeldgaard et al, 2019). In response, A. americanum and A. maculatum drastically reduce their activity in the presence of S. invicta in an effort to go undetected, thereby reducing their time spent questing (Kjeldgaard et al, 2019). Interestingly, the presence of S. invicta can also reduce the behavior of rodents that ticks feed on, which serve as pathogen reservoirs, ultimately causing a reduction in tick parasitism and transmission of pathogens (Castellanos et al, 2016; Orrock & Danielson, 2004).…”

Section: Prescribed Fire As a Control For Tick Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can restoration of fire‐dependent ecosystems reduce ticks and tick‐borne disease prevalence in the eastern United States?

Gallagher

Kreye

Machtinger

et al. 2022

Ecological Applications

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Over the past century, fire suppression has facilitated broad ecological changes in the composition, structure, and function of fire-dependent landscapes throughout the eastern US, which are in decline. These changes have likely contributed mechanistically to the enhancement of habitat conditions that favor pathogencarrying tick species, key wildlife hosts of ticks, and interactions that have fostered pathogen transmission among them and to humans. While the longrunning paradigm for limiting human exposure to tick-borne diseases focuses responsibility on individual prevention, the continued expansion of medically important tick populations, increased incidence of tick-borne disease in humans, and emergence of novel tick-borne diseases highlights the need for additional approaches to stem this public health challenge. Another approach that has the potential to be a cost-effective and widely applied but that remains largely overlooked is the use of prescribed fire to ecologically restore degraded landscapes that favor ticks and pathogen transmission. We examine the ecological role of fire and its effects on ticks within the eastern United States, especially examining the life cycles of forest-dwelling ticks, shifts in regional-scale fire use over the past century, and the concept that frequent fire may have helped moderate tick populations and pathogen transmission prior to the so-called fire-suppression era that has characterized the past century. We explore mechanisms of how fire and ecological restoration can reduce ticks, the potential for incorporating the mechanisms into the broader strategy for managing ticks, and the challenges, limitations, and research needs of prescribed burning for tick reduction.

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Section: Prescribed Fire As a Control For Tick Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Prescribed Fire As a Control For Tick Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can restoration of fire‐dependent ecosystems reduce ticks and tick‐borne disease prevalence in the eastern United States?

Gallagher

Kreye

Machtinger

et al. 2022

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Predator-derived cues can prompt predator avoidance behaviours in prey [ 15 ] but the type of cue, and its specific characteristics mediating predator avoidance behaviours by prey are often not investigated. Ants prey on many arthropods, including ticks, and often exert both consumptive and non-consumptive effects on prey species [ 12 , 13 , 16 ]. Ants use a plethora of chemical communication signals to coordinate group tasks such as nest defence, brood care and foraging behaviour [ 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis , reduce predation risk by eavesdropping on communication signals of Formica oreas thatching ants

Gooding,

Pinard,

Gries

et al. 2024

R. Soc. open sci.

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Ticks spend most of their life inhabiting leaf litter and detritus where they are protected from sun but preyed upon by ants. Ants secrete chemical communication signals to coordinate group tasks such as nest defence. Ticks that avoid ant semiochemicals—as indicators of ant presence—would reduce predation risk by ants. We tested the hypotheses that: (i) chemical deposits from the thatching ant Formica oreas deter blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis , (ii) deterrent semiochemicals originate from the ants' poison and/or Dufour's gland(s), and (iii) tick-deterrent semiochemicals serve as alarm-recruitment pheromone components in F. oreas . In two-choice olfactometer bioassays, filter paper soiled with ant chemical deposits significantly deterred female and male ticks. Poison and Dufour's gland extracts deterred ticks in combination but not alone. Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analyses of gland extracts revealed formic acid as the major constituent in the poison gland and eight hydrocarbons as constituents in the Dufour's gland. Synthetic formic acid and hydrocarbons deterred ticks only when combined. F. oreas workers sprayed both formic acid and hydrocarbons when distressed. A synthetic blend of these compounds elicited alarm-recruitment responses by F. oreas in behavioural bioassays. All results combined indicate that ticks eavesdrop on the ants' communication system.

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“…RIFAs have noted for displacing indigenous fire ant species, such as Solenopsis geminate in Texas 1 and Solenopsis richteri Forel in Mississippi 2 as well as other ant species in the U.S. 3 . In addition, RIFA reduces biodiversity by decreasing populations of animals 4 – 6 and damaging plants 7 , 8 . Therefore, understanding the patterns of geographical invasion for RIFA is essential in implementing controls to conserve local ecosystems, which is especially crucial to isolated islands 9 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling geographical invasions of Solenopsis invicta influenced by land-use patterns

Lin

Liu

Huang

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Research into geographical invasions of red imported fire ants (RIFAs) by anthropogenic disturbances has received much attention. However, little is known about how land-use change and the characteristics of roads with different land-use types are associated with the risk of RIFA successful invasion or remaining at the highest level of invasion (RIFA SIRH). Furthermore, it was often assumed in prior studies that the risk of RIFA SIRH had a linear association with the independent variables. However, a linear relationship may not reflect the actual circumstances. In this study, we applied linear and nonlinear approaches to assess how land-use types, distance from the nearest road, different land-use types, and spatial factors affect the risk of RIFA SIRH. The results showed that agricultural land, land for transportation usage, and areas that had undergone land-use change from 2014 to 2017 had greater odds of RIFA invasion than natural land cover. We also identified land for transportation usage and the area of land-use change from 2014 to 2017, had more than 60% of RIFA SIRH within 350 m and 150 m from the nearest road. This study provided important insights into RIFA invasions in an isolated island and the areas of control strategies implemented.

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Red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) aggression influences the behavior of three hard tick species

Cited by 5 publications

References 47 publications

Can restoration of fire‐dependent ecosystems reduce ticks and tick‐borne disease prevalence in the eastern United States?

Can restoration of fire‐dependent ecosystems reduce ticks and tick‐borne disease prevalence in the eastern United States?

Blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis , reduce predation risk by eavesdropping on communication signals of Formica oreas thatching ants

Modeling geographical invasions of Solenopsis invicta influenced by land-use patterns

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