Aggressive interactions between the introduced Argentine ant, Linepithema humile and the native odorous house ant, Tapinoma sessile |
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Authors: | Grzegorz Buczkowski Gary W Bennett |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA |
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Abstract: | The Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) is an invasive species that disrupts the balance of natural ecosystems by displacing indigenous ant species throughout its
introduced range. The mechanisms by which Argentine ants effectively compete against native ant species have been previously
addressed in field studies that centered on interference and exploitation competition at baits and mainly examined the colony-level
performance of Argentine ants. Detailed behavioral observations explaining the basis for the strong competitive ability of
L. humile are comparatively rare. To gain a better understanding of the mechanisms by which Argentine ants displace native ants we
examined the aggressive interactions between the Argentine ants and the odorous house ant, Tapinoma sessile in four different aggression assays: (1) worker dyad interactions, (2) symmetrical group interactions, (3) intruder introductions
into an established resident colony, and (4) a resource competition assay which focused on competition for food and nesting
space. Our results demonstrate a clear disparity between worker-level and colony-level fighting ability of Argentine ants
and provide behavioral evidence to explain the superior interference ability of Argentine ants in group assays. Argentine
ants experienced mixed success in fighting against odorous house ants in dyad interactions, but gradually gained a numerical
advantage in symmetrical group interactions by active cooperation among nestmates. Results of the resource competition assay
indicate that Argentine ants recruit rapidly, numerically dominate food and nesting sites, and aggressively displace T. sessile from baits. Taken together, the results of these assays allow us to pinpoint the behavioral mechanisms responsible for the
remarkable competitive ability of Argentine ants. |
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Keywords: | Aggression assay Argentine ant Competition Invasive ants Linepithema humile Odorous house ant Tapinoma sessile |
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