Variation and Adaptation in the Imported Fire Ant

Wilson, Edward O.

doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1951.tb02760.x

Cited by 21 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…This has been an issue with a number of ant species (e.g. Solenopsis invicta / S. richteri – Wilson, ; Tetramorium caespitum / T . tsushimae – Steiner et al ., ; Technomyrmex albipes / T. difficilis – Bolton, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body size variation and caste ratios in geographically distinct populations of the invasive big-headed ant,Pheidole megacephala(Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Wills

Moreau

Wray

et al. 2014

Biol J Linn Soc Lond

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Body size is an important life history trait that can evolve rapidly as a result of how species interact with each other and their environment. Invasive species often encounter vastly different ecological conditions throughout their introduced range that can influence relative investment in growth, reproduction and defence among populations. In this study, we quantified variation in worker size, morphology and proportion of majors among five populations of a worldwide invasive species, the big‐headed ant, Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius). The sampled populations differed in ant community composition, allowing us to examine if P. megacephala invests differently in the size and number of majors based on the local ant fauna. We also used genetic data to determine if these populations of P. megacephala represented cryptic species or if morphological differences could be attributed to change following introduction. We found significant variation in worker mass among the populations. Both major and minor workers were largest in Australia, where the ant fauna was most diverse, and minor workers were smallest in Hawaii and Mauritius, where P. megacephala interacted with few to no other ants. We also found differences in major and minor worker morphology among populations. Majors from Mauritius had significantly larger heads (width and length) relative to whole body size than those from Hawaii and Florida. Minors had longer heads and hind tibias in South Africa compared with populations from Australia, Hawaii and Florida. The proportion of majors did not differ among populations, suggesting that these populations may not be subject to trade‐offs in investment in major size versus number. Our molecular data place all samples within the same clade, supporting that these morphologically different populations represent the same species. These results suggest that the variation in shape and morphology of major and minor workers may therefore be the result of rapid adaptation or plastic responses to local conditions. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 113, 423–438.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body size variation and caste ratios in geographically distinct populations of the invasive big-headed ant,Pheidole megacephala(Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Wills

Moreau

Wray

et al. 2014

Biol J Linn Soc Lond

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“…Fire ants have displaced two species of native fire ants, Solenopsis geminata and Solenopsis xyloni (Wilson, 1951), and may also be displacing a wider array of native ant species throughout much of the invaded range (Morris & Steigman, 1993; Jusino‐Atresino & Phillips, 1994). Native ant abundance has been found to drop by 90%, and species richness by 70% immediately following invasion of the polygyne form of the red imported fire ant (Porter & Savignano, 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of abundance of fire ants and native ants in a native ecosystem

Stuble

Kirkman

Carroll

2009

Ecological Entomology

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. 1. This correlational study examines the relationship between the red imported fire ant ( Solenopsis invicta ) and native ants in a longleaf pine savanna. Fire ants are frequently associated with a decline in native ants throughout the invaded range, but fire ant invasion is often coupled with habitat disturbance. Invasion of fire ants into the longleaf pine savanna provides an opportunity to examine the structure of the ant community in the absence of habitat disturbance.2. Pitfall trapping was conducted within the longleaf pine savanna as well as across a naturally occurring soil moisture gradient, in plots that had been artificially watered.3. Species richness did not vary as a function of fire ant density. There was an inverse relationship between native ant density and fire ant density, but this abundance pattern does not necessarily imply a causal link between fire ant invasion and native ant decline. For individual species, fire ant densities were negatively correlated with the densities of only two native ant species, including Solenopsis carolinensis , a native species that potentially limits the invasion of fire ants. Additionally, fire ants and native ants respond differently to soil moisture, with native ants favouring drier conditions than fire ants.4. The possible exclusion of fire ants by some native ants, as well as differences in habitat preferences, provide alternative explanations for the frequently observed negative correlation between fire ants and native ants.

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“…Several decades after L. humile was first recorded in the United States (in 1891), it had spread throughout the Southeast . Wilson (1951) speculated that L. humile might hold its own in urban areas but lose ground to Solenopsis in more open environments. Although imported fire ants appear to have displaced Argentine ants from the southeastern United States, supportive evidence is largely anecdotal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Experimental Study of Competition Between Fire Ants and Argentine Ants in Their Native Range

LeBrun

Tillberg

Suarez

et al. 2007

Ecology

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An understanding of why introduced species achieve ecological success in novel environments often requires information about the factors that limit the abundance of these taxa in their native ranges. Although numerous recent studies have evaluated the importance of natural enemies in this context, relatively few have examined how ecological success may result from differences in the magnitude of interference competition between communities in the native and introduced ranges of nonnative species. Here we examine how native-range competitive environments may relate to invasion success for two important invasive species, the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) and the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile), in a region of native-range sympatry. At two study sites in northern Argentina, we used stable-isotope analysis, a variety of observational approaches, and two different reciprocal removal experiments to test (1) whether S. invicta competes asymmetrically with L. humile (as suggested by the 20th century pattern of replacement in the southeastern United States) and (2) the extent to which these two species achieve behavioral and numerical dominance. Stable-isotope analysis and activity surveys indicated that S. invicta and L. humile are both omnivores and forage during broadly overlapping portions of the diel cycle. Short-term removal experiments at baits revealed no competitive asymmetry between S. invicta and L. humile. Longer-term colony removal experiments illustrated that S. invicta and L. humile experience an approximately equal competitive release upon removal of the other. Our results indicate that neither S. invicta nor L. humile achieves the same degree of behavioral or ecological dominance where they co-occur in native populations as they do in areas where either is common in their introduced range. These results strongly suggest that interspecific competition is an important limiting factor for both S. invicta and L. humile in South America.

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Variation and Adaptation in the Imported Fire Ant

Cited by 21 publications

References 5 publications

Body size variation and caste ratios in geographically distinct populations of the invasive big-headed ant,Pheidole megacephala(Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Body size variation and caste ratios in geographically distinct populations of the invasive big-headed ant,Pheidole megacephala(Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Patterns of abundance of fire ants and native ants in a native ecosystem

An Experimental Study of Competition Between Fire Ants and Argentine Ants in Their Native Range

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