Wasmannia Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) in Argentina: Systematics and Distribution

Understanding the underlying mechanisms causing diversity patterns is a fundamental objective in ecology and science-based conservation biology. Energy and environmental-heterogeneity hypotheses have been suggested to explain spatial changes in ant diversity. However, the relative roles of each one in determining alpha and beta diversity patterns remain elusive. We investigated the main factors driving spatial changes in ant (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) species richness and composition (including turnover and nestedness components) along a 500 km longitudinal gradient in the Pampean region of Argentina. Ants were sampled using pitfall traps in 12 sample sites during the summer. We performed a model selection approach to analyse responses of ant richness and composition dissimilarity to environmental factors. Then, we computed a dissimilarity partitioning of the contributions of spatial turnover and nestedness to total composition dissimilarity. Temporal habitat heterogeneity and temperature were the primary factors explaining spatial patterns of epigean ant species richness across the Pampas. The distance decay in species composition similarity was best accounted by temperature dissimilarity, and turnover had the greatest contribution to the observed beta diversity pattern. Our findings suggest that both energy and environmental-heterogeneity-related variables are key factors shaping richness patterns of ants and niche-based processes instead of neutral processes appear to be regulating species composition of ant assemblages. The major contribution of turnover to the beta diversity pattern indicated that lands for potential reconversion to grassland should represent the complete environmental gradient of the Pampean region, instead of prioritizing a single site with high species richness.

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“…Workers of Wasmannia williamsoni (Kusnezov ) were captured the first time in Buenos Aires province (Cuezzo et al . ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Environmental drivers of ant species richness and composition across the Argentine Pampas grassland

et al. 2018

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“…auropunctata is absent, and in the Yungas Forest, where W . auropunctata is uncommon [ 26 ]. Second, ongoing urbanisation may facilitate the southern range expansion of W .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because the abundance of W . auropunctata depends on the type of environment [ 26 , 30 ], the sampling techniques differed between highly human-disturbed and undisturbed or slightly disturbed habitats. The first surveys were carried out between October 2008 and January 2009 (during most of spring) in natural forests at different disturbance levels: 1) Paranaense Forest (slightly modified Atlantic semi-evergreen rain forest) in northeastern Argentina, mainly in Misiones province), 2) Yungas Forest (a slightly to moderately modified low mountain forest with heavy seasonal rains) in northwestern Argentina), and 3) Chaco/Espinal Forest (a more dry and open forest which is currently highly fragmented and disturbed) [ 31 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The last surveys carried out in Argentina showed that W . auropunctata is widely distributed, being much more common in human-disturbed than in natural habitats [ 26 ]. Interestingly, the native range of W .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, the native range of W . auropunctata might have spread southwards over the past 60 years [ 26 , 27 ], as its southernmost distribution limit has recently been reported to be 34°51'S [ 26 ] in central Argentina, two degrees of latitude higher than those recorded previously [ 16 ], near the confluence of the Paraná - Caracarañá Rivers (~32°30'S) [ 28 ]. Excitingly, one of the populations that recently colonised central Argentina (Zárate, Buenos Aires province) would have acted as the source of the invasive W .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Southern expansion of the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata within its native range and its relation with clonality and human activity

et al. 2018

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The little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata, native to the Neotropics, has become a serious pest worldwide over the past 100 years. It was originally distributed from Mexico to northern Argentina and new evidence suggests a recent southern range expansion during the last 60 years reaching central Argentina. This supercolonial ant species has a polymorphic reproductive system. Some populations, mostly found in undisturbed natural environments, are characterised by a classical sexual haplodiploid reproductive system. In other populations, which mainly occur in human-modified habitats, diploid queens and haploid males are produced clonally while workers are produced sexually. Here we studied the association between the recent southern range expansion of W. auropunctata in relation to human activity and clonality. We carried out an extensive survey within the southern limit of the species’ native distribution and characterised the type of habitat where populations were found. Moreover, we genetically determined the type of reproductive system in 35 populations by genotyping at 12 microsatellite loci a total of 191 reproductive individuals (i.e. queens and/or males). Clonality was the most common reproductive system, occurring in 31 out of 35 populations analysed. All the populations found in the recently colonised area in central Argentina were clonal and established in human-modified habitats, suggesting that clonality together with human activity might have facilitated the southwards expansion of W. auropunctata.

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Local and landscape drivers of ground-dwelling ant diversity in agroecosystems of Dry Chaco

Castellarini,

Cuezzo,

Luna Toledo

et al. 2024

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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Wasmannia Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) in Argentina: Systematics and Distribution

Cited by 14 publications

References 35 publications

Environmental drivers of ant species richness and composition across the Argentine Pampas grassland

Environmental drivers of ant species richness and composition across the Argentine Pampas grassland

Southern expansion of the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata within its native range and its relation with clonality and human activity

Local and landscape drivers of ground-dwelling ant diversity in agroecosystems of Dry Chaco

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